Passions
by StudentofDust
Summary: A series of oneshots amongst Negi and the girls he's come to know so well. Most rated T, but some definitely will merit an M rating. DEAD STORY.
1. Passions I

Negi woke up late one Saturday morning, his back aching. "Man, if only I hadn't have gone to Eva-dono's last night to train…" He rolled over and looked down at Asuna's bed, but she wasn't there.

"Hnnn… I wonder where she is," Negi said to himself, then shrugged rolled over, going back to sleep.

When he woke up again, he felt someone pressed up against his back. Thinking it was Asuna trying to play a trick on him, he just lay there, feeling her warmth on his shirtless-

"Hey wait a minute!!" he thought. "I didn't go to sleep shirtless…" Whoever it was breathed, and he could feel her bare breasts press up against him. He decided that this wasn't such a bad position after all, and just lay there.

Soon, a hand reached over and grabbed him around the waist in a hug. Negi was by now starting to get a little concerned, so he tried to roll over, but whosever arm that was kept a tight hold on him. Soon, he could feel her move closer to him, and he started to feel excited. "Okay, Asuna, that's enough now." No response. "Oh, great," Negi thought, "she's doing this in her sleep…okay, Asuna, wake-up time." Negi finally completed the rolling-over and was shocked at what he saw.

Nodoka was laying next to him, shirtless; she was obviously still asleep. Negi was about to wake her up, when he looked down at her bare chest and thought, "Whoa…I never really thought about how Nodoka-san looks under her school clothes… She sure has a beautiful body…" Just then, Nodoka began to stir. Panicking, Negi turned around and laid down again.

Soon, he could hear Nodoka's gentle breathing again, and he felt it safe to turn around again. He quietly rolled over- to find Nodoka laying there, her eyes open. Negi froze in the position he was in.

"G-good morning, Negi-sensei, but… what… what are you doing in my room?" Nodoka asked.

Negi smiled. "Nodoka… it's the other way around."

Nodoka yawned and, looking around the room, found that she was, indeed in Negi's room. She gasped and said, "But… but how'd I get in here." Just then, she noticed she was shirtless; she blushed and tried to find the sheet, but couldn't reach it.

"I-I'm so sorry, Negi-sensei… I don't even know how I got in here-"

"I don't mind."

Nodoka looked up at Negi, surprised. "What do you mean, you don't mind?"

Negi smiled again. "Exactly what it sounds like it means. I don't mind that you're here, I don't mind that you're shirtless…"

Nodoka blushed harder. "Oh, stop it, Negi-sensei, you're embarrassing me…"

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Nodoka-san. There's no one around here to watch us…" All the time, Negi had been moving towards Nodoka, and Nodoka, towards him. Finally, Nodoka managed to climb up the stairs leading to Negi's room, and when they met at the top, Negi wrapped his arms around Nodoka, and kissed her.

Nodoka accepted the kiss, and she soon felt Negi's hands sliding downward, towards her waistband… She didn't care, though, and they kept embracing… until they heard the door open.

Asuna walked in, and dropped her paper bag on the floor. Yawning, she slipped out of her clothes, into her pajamas, and fell onto her bed; in seconds, she was asleep.

Negi turned to Nodoka. "I'm sorry, Nodoka-san, but it looks like we got interrupted…"

Nodoka grinned. "That's alright, Negi-sensei. There's always tomorrow."


	2. Passions II

"Wow, Haruna-san, that's really good!!!"

Negi stood hovering over Haruna's shoulder, watching her work on her newest manga volume. Just then, Nodoka walked in, carrying two glasses of tea.

"Hey, Haruna," Nodoka said, "you only wanted two milks in your tea, right?"

"Yeah, thanks. Just set it down on the stool," said Haruna. Negi just stood there, admiring Nodoka's blossoming body, and- or was it just him?- her skirt seemed a bit shorter than usual today.

Haruna looked up at Negi and, seeing him staring at Nodoka, snickered; Negi snapped out of his trance and quickly glanced at Haruna's drawings. Nodoka, by now, had crossed the room and sat down on a chair.

"Nodoka, Nodoka..." said Haruna after a minute. "You're just going to ignore our guest like that?"

"Guest? We have a guest?" Nodoka asked, not even looking up from her book.

"Wow, Nodoka," said Haruna, "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd walk into a room and not even notice Negi-kun..."

At this, Nodoka's head jerked up. Seeing Negi smiling and waving at her, she jumped up from her seat, blushing furiously.

"N- Negi-sensei... I didn't even notice you!!" said Nodoka. "I've just... had so much on my mind lately."

Negi glanced over at Haruna, worried. He crossed the room and, getting a chair, sat down beside Nodoka. "What kinds of things have you been worried about, Nodoka-san?"

Nodoka sat down beside Negi. "Well, for starters, I've just been... remembering a lot of bad things that happened in my childhood... things I wish I could forget... Not only that, but me, Haruna, and Yue are all supposed to go to the carnival with friends, but no one wants to go with me..." A tear slid down her cheek as she said that.

Negi slowly reached over and took Nodoka's hand. "If you want, Nodoka-san, I'll go to the carnival with you."

Nodoka looked up at Negi and grasped his hand back. "Would you... really do that for me, Negi-sensei?"

Negi looked at Nodoka. "Of course I would. If I say I'd do something, I'd do it."

Nodoka blushed again. "Thanks, Negi-sensei. We're leaving tomorrow, at 6:00."

"In the morning?" asked Negi. "Wow, that seems a bit early to wake up. Besides, I don't want to wake Asuna-san or Konoka-san up that early..."

Nodoka thought for a second, and as the idea grew in her mind, her blush grew more and more pronounced. Finally, she spoke up: "How about this: Do you want to spend the night over in mine and Yue's room? That way, you wouldn't have to worry about waking Asuna or Konoka up, and you can get ready with me tomorrow morning." Almost instinctively, Negi started blushing.

"Well..." said Negi, "I don't really have a problem with that... but what about Yue? Would she mind?"

"I really don't think so," replied Nodoka, "but let me call her just to make sure."

As Nodoka got on her cell phone, Negi walked over to Haruna, who was straining to hear them. "Okay," said Haruna, "I couldn't hear what y'all were saying.."

Negi took his cue. "Well... it looks like I'm going with Nodoka-chan to the carnival tomorrow and-"

Haruna's eyes widened. "No kidding, she asked you? Is that what took so long?"

Negi grinned. "Partially, but the other part was her asking me if I wanted to spend the night at her and Yue's room tonight." Haruna had just taken a drink of her milk tea, but at this piece of information, she choked and almost spit it out.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "Nodoka actually wants you to spend the night with her tonight?"

"Looks like it," said Negi. He suddenly got suspicious. "You and Yue won't be planning anything to get me alone with her, will you?"

Haruna looked hurt. "Why, of course not, Negi-kun. True love isn't something that can be rushed, you know."

Negi laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Just then, Nodoka walked up to them. "Okay, so Yue emphatically agreed to it" (everyone laughed) "and it's all set up."

Negi smiled at Nodoka, and Nodoka blushed again. "Okay," said Negi, "I've got to make up you all's tests for next Monday, but after that, I'll be over at your room with all my stuff, okay?"

Nodoka smiled. "Sounds great." Negi waved them goodbye, then headed back to his room, not seeing Haruna pull out her cell phone as soon as he left. Negi ran back to his dorm, hoping he could pack in privacy, but when he got there, he found Asuna laying in bed, doing her homework.

"What's up, Negi?" she asked as she came in.

"Not much really, just have to get packed," replied Negi.

Asuna's eyebrows went up. "Get packed? For what?"

Negi smiled at her. "Well, me, Yue-san, Nodoka-chan, and Haruna-san are all going to the carnival tomorrow, with some of Haruna's friends. Plus, somehow Nodoka-chan roped me into spending the night at her place tonight, so-"

Asuna's eyes bulged. "What?! You're spending the night in Bookstore's room? Aren't you afraid that something might happen?"

Negi laughed. "Not if I don't want it to. Besides, Yue's going to be there... I think... So we'll have someone there to keep us off each other."

Asuna blushed. "Are you really thinking about... _that_?"

Negi laughed again. "Calm down, Asuna, I'm just messing with you. Besides, even if I did want that, I doubt Nodoka would."

Asuna's face returned to its normal color. "Okay, that's good." Negi then hopped up to his "room" and began on the tests.

At seven o'clock sharp, Negi arrived at Nodoka's room and knocked. Yue answered the door. "Welcome to our room, Negi-sensei. Please come in."

"Thank you, Yue-san," said Negi, impressed with Yue's hospitality. "Where's Nodoka-chan?"

"Nodoka's in the shower; she said she'd be out in a minute. Would you like to have a seat?"

"Sure," said Negi, and he sat in the chair that was offered to him. Yue sat down beside him, wondering if she should do what she was thinking about doing. Finally, she decided to do it, and she reached over and took Negi's hand; Negi grasped Yue's hand and they simply sat there, both obviously very happy. Yue was just about to lean over and kiss him, when Nodoka opened the door and entered the room. Quickly, the two let go, just as Nodoka got inside the room and, in an act that amazed Negi, dropped her towel as soon as she got in.

Negi got a very generous glimpse of what was to him a very well-endowed chest, when suddenly Nodoka looked up and saw Negi there. Blushing even harder than before, she grabbed her towel and hastily put it on, though it didn't cover everything it was supposed to.

She turned her sights toward Yue. "Why the heck didn't you tell me that Negi-sensei was here? I wouldn't have come out like I always do-"

"Wait," Negi said, "so you're saying that you _always_ come out of the shower naked?"

Nodoka blushed even harder now. "Sorry..." She stalked off, muttering, "Oh man, what does Negi-sensei think of me now?"

Negi turned to Yue. "You didn't have to do that, you know..."

Yue smiled. "Yeah, I know. But I figure you'd want to know more about the girl you're in love with... Hold on, I got a call on my cell."

As Yue flipped her phone open, Nodoka walked out of her bedroom, clothed in her pajamas. She turned to Negi. "Negi-sensei, I'm so sorry you had to see that..."

Negi laughed. "Why are you saying sorry? I enjoyed it."

Nodoka's face grew even redder. Yue then hung up the phone. "Good news, guys. Me and Haruna are going out for the night and we won't be back til late. So it looks like you two are on your own for tonight."

Negi's face grew red. "That's the last time I ever trust anything Haruna says..." he muttered. Nodoka, on the other hand, was looking like she was going to faint. She was about to say something when she felt someone's hand enclose hers. She looked up to find Negi holding her hand. "Don't worry about a thing," said Negi. "We'll have a great time here together." This just served to make her blush harder.

"Well, I'm off," said Yue. "Hope the room isn't in too much of a mess when I get back..." She winked at Nodoka as she said this, then ran out the door before Nodoka had the chance to say anything back. Negi turned to her. "So, what do you want for dinner? I'll cook."

Nodoka looked up in surprise. "You can cook, Negi-sensei? I can't. I'm a bit too clumsy to cook."

Negi laughed. "It's not really that hard. Watch and learn." Negi then set to the task, and within the hour, he had a spaghetti dinner made. "Well," Negi said, "what do you think?"

Nodoka tasted it, then her eyes grew wide. "This is really good!! How'd you make it?"

Negi smiled. "It's an old recipe of my mom's; my dad taught it to me."

This got Nodoka's full attention. "Your mom? I haven't heard you talk much about your mom. Do you remember much about her?"

Negi swallowed his spaghetti. "Not much, just what the Thousand Master told me. She was a great woman, I know that much. She managed to melt my dad's hardened heart..."

Nodoka laughed. "Well, I'm glad you have a family now."

Negi thought for a second, then smiled. "You know, you're right. I do have a family now..."

Negi got up, and magicked the dishes into the sink. Nodoka yawned, and Negi said, "I feel the same way. Come on, let's go to sleep." Negi walked up to Nodoka and took her hand; she took his, also, and they walked into the living room. Negi was the first to go to bed, and he had his back turned when he felt his mattress sink a little further. Just then, he felt his shirt being taken off, and a pair of breasts pressing up against his back. He turned around and kissed Nodoka; she received it, and they simply lay there, kissing, their hands going further and further down each other's bodies...

The next morning, Nodoka woke up and found Negi lying there, already awake. "Good morning, Nodoka-chan," said Negi.

Nodoka smiled. "Good morning, Negi-kun."

Negi kissed Nodoka, then climbed over her and went into the kitchen. There, he found Yue cooking breakfast. Yue smiled when she saw him. "How was last night?"

Negi grinned. "The best yet."

Yue laughed. "I could kinda tell; I saw you guys when I came in last night, you two all snuggled up together... it was pretty cute, you know."

Negi grinned, then walked up and kissed Yue. Yue stepped back in shock. "What- what was that for?"

Negi smiled again. "Just saying good morning."

Yue laughed. "Excellent way of saying good morning, I'd say."

Just then, they heard Haruna's voice from the living room: "Come on, guys, let's head out!!!"

The four of them headed out, ready to have the time of their lives at the carnival that day.

**(to be continued)**


	3. Passions III

"Hot... so hot..."

It was indeed hot outside, and the fact that Negi had air conditioning in his room wasn't helping at all. He simply lay on his futon, sweating, wishing he had something else to drink besides hot tea. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Grumbling to himself, Negi got up and descended the stairs.

Opening the door, he found Kaede standing there. "Good afternoon, Negi-kun," she said.

"Good afternoon to you, too, Kaede-san," replied Negi.

Kaede smiled. "You look a little hot."

"So do you," replied Negi, smiling.

Kaede laughed. "Well, that wasn't really what I meant, but I appreciate the compliment, anyways."

Negi invited her in, and she came in, sitting down on Asuna's bed. "So what can I do for you today, Kaede-san?" asked Negi.

Kaede smiled. "Well, Negi-kun, I was wondering if you wanted to get a little training in today." Seeing the look of incredulity on Negi's face, Kaede quickly added, "It wouldn't be anything major, considering how hot it is outside. We can run to the store before we go, if you want, and pick up some stuff for a picnic dinner for after we finish. How does that sound?"

Negi looked at Kaede. "Honestly, it's the best idea I've heard in a long time. Can you wait outside while I change?"

Kaede looked confused. "Why do you want me to wait outside?"

Negi said, "Well, if you want to, I guess you could stay in here..." Grinning, Kaede sat back down on the bed as Negi began to change. About halfway through, Negi began to feel that someone was watching him, and sure enough, when he glanced over at Kaede, he found her staring at him intently. Negi grinned. "You like what you see?"

Kaede flushed a bright red. "Well... I wasn't really looking at anything in particular... but I guess you could say I did." Negi laughed.

As Negi strapped his staff onto his back, Kaede said, "You know, Negi-kun, I've always wanted to take a ride on that thing. Do you mind if I ride on it today?"

Negi thought for a second, then said, "That's fine. It's the weekend, so I don't think there are going to be any prying eyes to see us." He walked out of the room, holding the door open for Kaede as she passed him.

"Why, thank you, Negi-kun. You're quite the gentlemen," remarked Kaede.

"It's how I was raised," replied Negi. "My father, for the small time I knew him, tried his best to make sure I would always be the best I could be. I've tried to live up to his expectations... I'm not sure how I've done, though."

Kaede said, "We need to get going. Oh, and by the way... from what I've heard about the Thousand Master, you're going to grow up to make him the proudest dad on earth." Blushing, Negi mumbled something, then closed the door.

Walking out onto the street, Negi asked Kaede, "Are we going to train in the same spot we did last time?"

Kaede smiled. "No, Negi-kun, I'm taking you to a brand new place- one that's very special to me..." As they walked along, a thought occurred to Negi. "Kaede," he said, "did you ever get to meet my father?"

Looking a bit confused, Kaede replied, "No, I never did get to meet him- but I would have loved to. From all the heroic tales I've heard about him from my parents... he's my mom's hero. And to think his son is my teacher..."

Hopping on Negi's staff, Kaede and Negi rode off; they went on for about another mile before Kaede said, "Okay, see that patch of woods over there?" When Negi nodded, Kaede said, "That is where we will be doing our training."

Negi looked at the patch of trees. "It looks like that's someone's backyard. Do you think it's alright for us to train there?"

Kaede smiled. "Yes, Negi-kun, I do. I know the people there very well, and I am always welcome there, no matter what the reason. There is another spot beyond the house, one that we alone know about. I will show you that spot later on."

As they passed the house (on foot), Negi heard someone call out, "Good afternoon, Kaede-chan!!!"

"Good afternoon," she called back as they entered the woods. Negi wondered what kind of training they would be doing that day. After walking for another half mile or so, they came into a clearing, and Negi couldn't believe what he saw.

They had come out into what looked like an island paradise; a lake was in the center of the clearing, with a hut off to the side. What really amazed Negi was the fact that the lake was crystal clear; he thought he could see to the bottom, and when he wandered over to the water's edge, he found out he really could.

Just then, he heard Kaede's voice. "This is where our training will be." He turned around to see Kaede smiling. "You do know how to swim, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Negi, "I've known for ages."

"Excellent," replied Kaede. She then undid her sash and let her clothes drop away, leaving her completely naked. Negi was a bit surprised at her action; he had already seen her naked body before, the last time they went out to train, but nevertheless, he was still a bit embarrassed. Kaede must have noticed, because she said, "Is everything alright, Negi-kun?"

Negi replied, "Yeah, everything's fine, but... do you really plan on swimming naked? What if someone sees us?"

Kaede laughed. "I'm sure no one will see us; not many people even know this is back here, and the ones that do know not to disturb me when I am here."

Negi asked, "Do you want me to swim naked, too?"

For some reason, Kaede blushed when Negi said this. "Well... I wouldn't mind, particularly... but if you feel embarrassed, then just wear the clothes you have on."

Kaede looked up, and when she did, she found that Negi had already stripped, and was smiling at her. "Did Negi-kun always have that good of a body?" she thought to herself; soon, she found that she was getting a bit too excited, so she jumped into the lake to try to clear her mind. Negi jumped in right after her. "So what's our training?" he asked again.

Smiling, Kaede said, "Well, there are quite a few fish in this lake, and they are easy enough to catch when you have a pole. But, we are going to catch them a completely different way today. Oh, and the fish you catch are going to be part of our picnic dinner later."

Negi understood suddenly, and he said, "We're going to catch them by swimming at them?" Kaede seemed glad he understood so quickly. "This is going to be fun..." Negi muttered to himself. When he turned to Kaede to ask her how he was supposed to find the fish, he found her already holding two fish, one in each hand. Negi's jaw dropped. "How'd you catch those so quickly?"

Kaede laughed. "Very carefully. Now you try. There should be fish right to your left." Negi looked and, sure enough, there were two medium-sized fish swimming right beside him. Negi carefully turned around and, before the fish knew someone was coming, he had both of them in his hands.

He turned to Kaede, and he found her with her mouth hanging open. "You really do learn easily, don't you, Negi-kun? It took me months to learn how to do this..." She smiled. "But let's see how you do a second time."

Negi smiled, then reached down into the water; when he pulled back up, he had two more fish in his hands. Kaede laughed. "Well, I see I have found a very good training partner." She noticed it was getting a bit dark. "Let's go ahead and get the food started," Kaede said. "If you would, go get some good firewood."

As Negi walked off, Kaede couldn't help but stare at him. "What's going on?" she thought to herself. "I mean, I've always thought Negi-kun was cute, but... never _this_ much. Do I... do I love him? And what would happen if I did love him? I already know that Nodoka-chan and Yue-dono are both in love with him, too; could I take him for my own, knowing I wasn't the only one who wanted him?"

As Negi came back and started the fire, Kaede helped him out in silence. War between her feelings raged inside of her; every time she looked at Negi, she felt guilty for loving him, for that's what it really was, she decided- she truly loved him, no matter what she said to herself to the contrary...

Soon, Negi noticed her unusual silence. "Are you feeling alright, Kaede-san?" Kaede jumped. "Yes, Negi-kun; I'm fine." Negi didn't fully believe her, but he let the topic drop.

As Kaede was coming to grips with her own love for Negi, Negi was asking himself almost the same questions. "What is this? Kaede-san has been a great friend for so long... why start falling in love now?" He glanced over at Kaede, obviously worried about something, and a thought came to him: "Is it possible Kaede-san is in love with me, too? Wow, this puts me in a predicament; I already like Nodoka-san, but... today, Kaede-san was amazing. I've never seen anyone as awesome as she is. I may love her, but what do I want to do with that love?"

Negi speared the fish and set them over the fire; walking over to the picnic basket, he took out a tablecloth and set it in a flat place. He then did something Kaede was not expecting at all: he reached into his backpack and took out two candles and, lighting them on the fire, set them on the tablecloth.

Kaede's heart skipped a beat when she saw this. "I wasn't expecting a candlelight dinner tonight, Negi-kun. What made you want to do this?"

Negi smiled. "Well, Kaede-san, I simply wanted to give something back to you for doing all this for me- taking me out to do this training, being my Sessha... just for being there for me."

Kaede found herself blushing harder than ever as he said that. "Th-thank you, Negi-dono..."

Negi looked up, surprised that Kaede had addressed him with such a high honorific. "Why do you show me such respect?" asked Negi.

"It's simple," replied Kaede. "You may be a bit younger than I, but I look up to you more than practically anyone else. You seem to have everything in line- what you want to do, what you're going to do to get there... Me, I don't know what I want to do when I graduate..."

Negi took a spear of fish out of the fire and gave it to Kaede; she smiled and started to walk over to the picnic spread when she felt someone's hand enclose hers. She looked to her side and found Negi holding her hand; she was a bit surprised, but she took his also, and they walked like that, side by side, to the spread.

Dinner passed too quickly, in Kaede's opinion; it had gotten to the point where she wanted every waking moment to be spent with Negi. Once they had finished, Negi said, "I've got an idea. Would you like to take a bath with me, again?"

Kaede was shocked, as this was the very idea she was considering. "Could it mean he really does like me?" she asked herself. "I was thinking the same thing," she said to Negi. "Stay here, and I'll go get the bath."

Negi watched as Kaede walked away, and he started to feel lonely, empty inside. "I want to be near her so badly!" he thought. It wasn't long, though, before Kaede returned with the same makeshift bath that she and Negi had used the previous time. Kaede lit another fire under the drum; soon, the water was perfect and Kaede was about to step in when Negi said, "Do you mind if I wash you this time?"

Kaede was a bit shocked, but she recovered and said, "I'd love that." Negi got in first, then Kaede followed. As she got into the tub, she leaned backwards, so that her back was resting against Negi's chest. Negi took the washrag and began to wash her body, starting with her shoulders and working his way down. All the while, Kaede was thinking to herself, "I really should not be enjoying this as much as I am, but... oh, who am I kidding? This boy knows how to use his hands..."

Negi's hands reached her breasts, where they lingered for awhile, washing them longer than was probably necessary, but neither of them minded much. He then continued downward, to her stomach... her hips... She began to feel a sensation near her waist, and she couldn't take it anymore. She reached out, took Negi's hand, and placed it near her groin so he could wash it. Negi was a bit surprised at her straight-forwardness, but he simply smiled and began to caress, to wash.

Negi soon finished washing her, and they simply sat in the bath, Negi's arms around Kaede's waist, Kaede holding onto Negi's hands with her own. Soon, Kaede leaned back so her head was leaning against Negi's shoulder. "I could stay like this forever, you know," she told Negi.

Negi smiled. "I know exactly how you feel." He bent his head down and kissed her; she received it, her lips caressing his. His hands began to wander downward, feeling, fondling. She held onto him, tightly, as nature began to take its course.

After awhile, they noticed the water had begun to get cold, so they both got out and wrapped themselves in the towels Kaede had brought. As Negi began to get dressed, a thought came to his mind, and he asked Kaede, "How do you know the people who live in that house?"

Kaede laughed. "I was wondering when you might ask that. As a matter of fact, the person I greeted as we passed the house was my mother." Negi's eyes widened. "So, all this... belongs to your parents?"

"Yep," Kaede replied. "You're standing in my backyard. Welcome."

Laughing, Negi reached out and took Kaede's hand; they started to walk back to Mahora. Soon (too soon for the two of them), they reached Negi's dorm. Kaede said, "Sorry I can't stay, but I need to study for a test tomorrow."

"That's fine," Negi replied, and he kissed her one last time before she left. As she walked away, Kaede turned around and said, "Oh, and Negi-dono... you know that if you ever need anything... you can always count on Sessha."


	4. Passions IV

Weaving amongst the trees, Negi navigated his staff around, trying to get a better feel for being on it again, having been so busy with the 16th annual MahoraFest that he hadn't had much time at all to ride his staff with all the people crowding Mahra Academy… Negi touched down and began to walk towards the main road when he noticed off to the side, a fire going. He wandered over to see what was going on and found Ako, Madoka, Misa, and Sakurako sitting by a campfire, roasting marshmallows.

"Hey, look, it's Negi-kun!!" said Sakurako, and immediately all four heads snapped in his direction.

"Negi-kun!" said Ako. "What are you doing out here? And what's with that staff?"

Negi realized he had forgotten to lay his staff down before he walked into the campsite. "It's my hiking stick," he replied. "I figured since it's the weekend, I should get some exercise, so I came up here to do some hiking." Just then, Negi realized something. "Hey, guys, you do know that this is the woods behind Kaede-san's house, right? Does she even know you're back here?"

Sakurako blushed as she said, "Well… no, not really. So we'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her." Negi smiled. "Don't worry, I won't. I gotta head back, so I'll see you all in class Monday."

They waved him goodbye, then Negi started walking away. He made sure that no one was looking before he hopped on his staff and flew away. Madoka looked in Negi's previous direction to tell him something, but of course he was already gone. "Hey, guys. How'd Negi-kun leave so quickly?" The rest of them looked around. "I knew Negi-kun was fast," said Ako, "but not _that_ fast…"

While the girls were trying to figure out where Negi was, Negi was speeding down an abandoned road, one that would take him to the back part of the Mahora campus. When he reached the limits, he got off his staff and replaced it on his backpack. He then headed to the store, to pick up some more tea.

When he returned to the dorm and walked into his room, he found Konoka asleep on the bed. He crept upstairs, so as not to wake her up, then lay down on his bed and passed out himself.

The next morning, he awoke to find that Asuna and Konoka had already left. "Hmm…" he thought sleepily, "where'd everyone go?" He looked at his alarm clock and saw that it was 9:00. "Oh no, I'm late!!!" he thought as he grabbed his backpack and raced out the door. Once he was out of the dorm, he incanted a spell, then raced off on the speed of the wind. He arrived at the class a minute later, and walked in..

"Good morning, class," Negi said. "Sorry I'm a bit late, but _someone_ forgot to wake me up this morning…" He glanced over at Asuna as he said this, and she blushed. "Sorry.." she muttered."

Just then, he heard a voice from the back of the room. "Excuse me, Negi-sensei," said Yue, "but why are you in your pajamas?"

Looking down, Negi realized that he was, indeed still in his pajamas. Racing to come up with an answer, he said, "You all didn't hear? Today was Pajama Day. You could come in your pajamas if you wanted to…"

"No one else is in their pajamas, though," said Fumika.

Negi smiled. "That's because it was for this class only."

Just then, Haruna and Asuna leapt up from their seats and headed towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?" asked Negi.

"If we could have come to our class in pajamas, why not go get them now?" asked Haruna, as she and Asuna took off. Negi laughed. "Well, now that our resident hothead is out of the building, shall we begin?" The class laughed with him, and Negi began his lecture.

Class ended, and the girls of class 3-A began to file out of the room. Negi turned to the blackboard and, incanting a levitation spell, caused the erasers to move up and down the board. Soon, the board was free of chalk, and Negi turned aroundt to leave, when he realized that someone was still in the classroom.

"What can I do for you, Ako-san?" asked Negi, nervously. "Did she see my magic?" he thought frantically.

Ako sat up suddenly. "What? Oh… I'm sorry, Negi-sensei; I must have dozed off. What was the question?"

Negi realized that since she was asleep, she couldn't have seen him using magic. Smiling in relief, he said, "I didn't ask you anything, Ako-san. Class has been over for five minutes now."

A look of shock appeared on Ako's face. "Oh man, did I sleep through the whole class?" She leapt up and started to race out of the room, but stopped suddenly. She came over to Negi's desk, and Negi could see that she was blushing. "Is there something I can help you with?" Negi asked.

"Not really help me with," said Ako, "but the band that I'm in is headlinging the Mahora Battle of the Bands tomorrow night, and I was wondering… well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come see us play…"

Negi smiled. "I'd love to. Where is it going to be at?"

"In World Tree Park," replied Ako. "We come on at 7:00. Here, here's a ticket for you to get in."

Negi accepted the offered ticket. "Thank you, Ako-san," Negi said. "I'll be sure to be there." Smiling, Ako bowed, then left the room.

Not long after, Ako was headed towards her gym class when she ran into Sakurako. "Hey, Ako," Sakurako said. She noticed Ako was blushing slightly. "Ako, what'd you do this time?"

Ako smiled. "Not much really… I just invited Negi-sensei to come to our concert tomorrow."

Sakurako squealed. "That was a great idea, Ako!" Sakurako got a mischievous grin on her face. "You should ask him out on a date before the concert," she said.

Ako jumped back a bit. "N-no, I couldn't.."

"Oh, come on," said Madoka, who had heard the last part of the conversation and had just jumped in. "You know you like him, so what's the big deal?"

Ako muttered something that neither of them could make out. "What was that?" asked Sakurako.

Ako blushed as she said, "You know I like Nagi-san…"

The light clicked in Madoka's head. "Oh, yeah, Negi-kun's cousin… Well, maybe Negi-kun will invite him."

"I hope so," Ako muttered, still blushing.

As this conversation was taking place, Negi was setting into his room, getting on the MagiNet. Just then, Chamo jumped up onto the futon. "Hey, Aniki," Chamo said.

Negi smiled. "Hello to you too, Chamo-kun."

Chamo noticed the ticket on Negi's desk. "What's that, Aniki?"

"Oh, that's a ticket to Ako-san's concert tomorrow night. Shi invited me to come see it. She looked a bit nervous, though."

Chamo's eyes widened. "Her band is playing at that giant concert tomorrow? No wonder she was nervous."

"Yeah," Negi said, "and her band is headlining, at that. So they'll be the first ones on stage."

Chamo grimaced. "Yeah, if I was her, I'd be a bit nervous, too. Is there anything you could do to calm her down a bit?"

Negi thought for a minute. "No, I don't think there's anything I could do…" Just then, an idea made its way into Negi's head, and he grinned. "But I know someone who _could_. Chamo-kun, do you have any more of thoee Age Candies?"

Chamo understood where this was going immediately. "As a matter of fact, Aniki, a brand new batch just came in today."

"Great!!!" said Negi. "She'll be in for the surprise of her life…"

For Ako, the next day seemed to fly by faster than ever, and before she knew it, they were setting up for the concert. "Didn't you ask Negi-kun if he wanted to come early?" asked Misa.

"Yeah," replied Ako, "but I'm not sure if he'll come…" She noticed that their mouths had dropped open. "What's up, guys?" She turned around to see what they were staring at, and her heart seemed to stop when she saw him.

She waited until he was close enough for him to hear her, and she said, "G-good afternoon, Nagi-san."

"Nagi" turned and saw Ako standing there, blushing furiously. "Well, good afternoon, Ako-san," Nagi said. Just then, Kotaro walked up behind him. "And why exactly did you drag me here?" Kotaro asked. "But more importantly, why'd I have to take those candies again?"

Ako smiled and turned to Madoka. "Hey, Madoka, your boyfriend's here."

Madoka turned around. "Boyfriend? But I don't have a-" She stopped, noticing Kotaro there. Walking up to him, she said, "I remember you. You were with Nagi-san the last time we played."

Kotaro finally recognized her. "Yeah, I remember now. How are you?"

"Not bad," said Madoka. She then noticed that Ako was staring at Nagi in a funny way. "Let's go somewhere, and leave these two lovebirds in peace." She walked up to Kotaro, blushing slightly, and took his hand; Kotaro's hand closed around hers and they walked off, leaving Ako alone with Nagi.

Ako's mind was racing. "Why'd Madoka have to do this… But wait, I thought Nagi had to go back to England… what's he doing here?" She looked up at Nagi. "Um, Nagi-san… I thought you had to go back to England."

Nagi smiled. "I did, but I happened to come down here to visit Negi-kun this weekend. He couldn't make it, so he asked me to come in his place. He also mentioned that you were kind of nervous about the concert."

Ako blushed. "Well, yeah, we're starting off the concert… So yeah, I'm a bit nervous."

Nagi laughed. "Well, if you need any encouragement, just think about what I told you last time, and you should be fine." An idea came to him. "Say, would you like to come have a quick bite to ear with me? It can be a celebration of you guys making it to the concert."

Ako looked up quickly. "I-I'd love that… But I'm not really in the right clothes to go out on a date right now…" She suddenly blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call it that…"

Nagi laughed. "No, it's fine. If you want to call it a date, then let's make it a date."

Ako blushed harder. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from him," she thought. "This must be some kind of dream…" She pinched her side, so Nagi wouldn't see wat she was doing. "Nope, not dreaming… although this is a dream come true.." Just then, Kotaro and Madoka came back, still holding hands. Nagi noticed them, and smiled. "Ako, would you mind if Kotaro and Madoka-san came with us?"

Ako looked surprised. "Kotaro? Is that his name? Huh… No, I don't mind at all." She was very much relieved at this, as she still wasn't too comfortable with the idea of being alone with Nagi… yet.

Nagi turned to Kotaro. "Hey, Kotaro, Madoka…" They looked at him. "Me and Ako-chan were about to head out for some dinner. Would you like to accompany us?"

Kotaro smiled. "Yeah, I'm hungry," and Madoka agreed. A thought came to Nagi's mind. "Wait, didn't you two just go out to eat?"

Kotaro laughed. "No, we just said we were going out; we never said anything about eating. Although technically…"

Nagi laughed. "Okay, Kotaro, I get what you're saying." He turned to Ako. "Are you ready?" Ako nodded, still blushing, and they set off, Nagi at Ako's side, Madoka still holding hands with Kotaro.

After they had gone aways, Ako turned to Nagi. "Um, Nagi-san… Would you mind if I… held your hand?" Nagi laughed and replied, "No, not at all…" He held out his hand and Ako took it. "Oh my God, I'm in heaven…" she thought.

As his hand enclosed hers, Nagi got to thinking. "I'm surprised I haven't noticed it before, but Ako really is cute. And her hands are so warm… I know she's in love with the "older" me… but I think I can make this a night she'll never forget." His other hand reached into his coat pocket, feeling for the other candies he had brought, in case the first one wore off; reassured they were still there, his hand dropped to his side.

They soon arrived at the restaurant, and they found a table. Nagi was so preoccupied with Ako, he failed to notice that Yue and Nodoka were at the same restaurant; Nodoka, however, didn't fail to notice Nagi. "Wow," she said to Yue. "See that guy over there? He's really cute.."

Yue looked at Nodoka funnily. "Is he as cute as Negi-sensei?"

Nodoka laughed. "No, but he comes close… kinda…"

Yue laughed, then looked in Nagi's direction; her eyes grew wide. "I never thought I'd agree with you on this with anyone but Negi-sensei… but he really _is_ cute!"

Nodoka laughed saying, "Told you so."

While Yue and Nodoka were checking Nagi out, Nagi was checking out the menu. 'What looks good, what looks good…." he muttered to himself. He looked over at Ako, who was sitting kind of rigidly. "Is everything alright, Ako-chan?"

Ako jumped a bit. "Yeah, everything's fine… I just… it feels good, being out here with you like this. I… really never have liked that many guys before, but you… I don't know, I just love hanging out with you."

Nagi smiled. "And I always have a great time when I'm with you, Ako-chan. It really is a pleasure to know you." Ako blushed even harder. "Th-thanks, Nagi-san…"

Kotaro and Madoka came back from the restroom, and the waiter came to take their order. Kotaro looked at his watch and saw that it was 6:45. "Uh, Madoka," he said, "your concert starts in 15 minutes…"

Madoka yelped. "Oh man, you're right! Let's go.!"

"Waiter!" said Negi. "Can we get that food to go?"

They got their food, then hurried back to the concert area, with five minutes to spare. Ako turned to Nagi. "I… I really had a great time tonight, Nagi-san. I hope we can do it again sometime."

"Yeah, so do I," said Nagi. He noticed that she was still shaking a bit. "Still nervous?" he asked.

Ako blushed. "Kind of.." she said

"Here," said Nagi, "I think this will help you calm down a bit." He then leaned over and kissed her. Ako's eyes grew wide, then she simply closed them and wrapped her arms around Nagi as they continued to kiss. After a long while, they broke apart. "Thank you, Nagi-san," said Ako. "I don't feel nervous anymore."

Nagi smiled. "That, I'm glad of."

Just then, the announcer came on the speaker: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, welcome to the Mahora Academy's Battle of the Bands. Kicking us off tonight… DEKOPIN ROCKET!!!!"

The crowd cheered as the band made its way onto the stage; Ako blew Nagi a kiss as she came on, and Nagi blushed slightly. Suddenly, he felt a hand slip into his left pocket and pull something out. He turned around to find Kotaro pop one of the candies into his mouth. Kotaro noticed Nagi was looking at him and said, "Sorry, the effect of the first one was wearing off." Negi then noticed his was beginning to wear off, too, so he popped one also, and he was soon back to his older self.

Nagi enjoyed the concert immensely, and he noticed Kotaro did too, although Kotaro spent most his time staring at Madoka. As the concert ended, Ako looked at the crowd to see if Nagi was still there, and she found him clapping and cheering very loudly; she blushed and waved to him.

As Ako and the others made their way off-stage, Kotaro and Nagi went up to meet them. "You all were great!" said Kotaro as Madoka ran up to him, almost knocking over a teenage girl with a Necoconeco figurine perched on top of her head, and wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug. Ako simply walked up to Nagi. "Thanks," she said. "That really helped calm me down."

Nagi smiled. "Glad to be of service, Ako-chan." Ako walked up so that her body was pressed against Nagi's. "Now, it's my turn," she said, and leaned up and kissed him. Nagi returned the kiss, and they stood there, pressed against each other, not bothering to notice that everyone was now staring at them.

"Oh, to heck with this," Kotaro thought. "Hey, Madoka." As Madoka turned around, Kotaro leaned in and kissed her. Madoka blushed furiously, as she kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him.

They all spent the next few hours sitting in the park, talking about everything; Madoka was holding tightly to Kotaro's hand, and Ako sat rested up against Nagi's chest, Nagi's arms wrapped around her waist. The concert ended, and they all headed back to the dorm. They got there, and Kotaro went to open the door for Madoka, but it wouldn't budge.

:"What the hell?" Kotaro thought, then saw a sign on the door. He turned to the others.

"Uh guys… The doors locked at 10:30. We can't get in till morning."

Ako gasped. "Where are we going to sleep, then?"

Just then, Sakurako got an idea. "Hey guys, how about spending the night at a hotel? "

Nagi smiled. "I think that's a great idea. In fact, I'll pay for the rooms. Sakurako-san and Misa-san can share a room, Kotaro and Madoka-san can take one, and myself and Ako-chan can take the other."

Ako blushed again. "Do… do you really want me to sleep with you tonight?" she asked.

"Only if you want to," said Nagi, winking at her. Ako's face grew even redder.

They began to walk towards a nearby hotel. Along the way, Ako began to think. "Does he really want me to… do it with him? No, he must have been talking about sleeping in the same room with him. But… I want to, I really do, but I'm scared… Would Negi-sensei care?" Her face hardened. "Nagi told me that I needed to have more courage. And I'm going to."

They got there and paid for their rooms, and they went upstairs. "Have fun," Madoka said to Ako. "With pleasure," she said, to Madoka's surprise. Ako and Nagi entered their room.

"Wow, it's beautiful," she said. Nagi agreed. "I'm going to take a shower, okay?" Ako said. She took off her clothes in the room, then stepped into the bathroom.

"I wonder what Ako thought when I said that," said Nagi to himself. "Does she actually want to, I wonder…" His thoughts were consumed with her until he heard the door open. He turned to the door, and was surprised to find that she was naked. "You don't… have any clothes on…" he said.

Ako ran up to the edge of the bed, then jumped on top of Nagi's stomach. "Yup," she said, then she kissed him. Nagi received the kiss, then he rolled over on top of her, his hands moving from her legs, up her body, causing her to shiver with excitement…

They fell asleep like that; after awhile, Ako rolled out from under Nagi, then fell asleep again. The next morning, Ako awoke and rolled over to find Nagi gone. "Oh, man, he had to leave again…" she thought, then grinned. "But at least this time, he left a great memory…" She was about to get off the bed when she noticed a small figure laying on the ground.

"Oh, my God!!!" she yelled, and the figure awoke with a start. "Negi-sensei!! Wh-what are you doing in here?"

Negi smiled. "Sorry for the scare. Nagi had to leave last night, and he asked me if I could stay with you last night." He got up on the bed and made his way towards her. "And he asked me to give this to you." He leaned over and kissed her. Ako blushed. "Tell him I said thank you, next time you talk to him," she said.

Negi smiled. "And this one's from me." He leaned in and kissed her again; Ako wrapped her arms around him as they sat on the bed like that. After awhile, they heard th door begin to open, but before Negi could hide himself, Sakurako walked in with Madoka. They saw Negi on top of Ako, and yelped. "Wh-what are you doing, Negi-sensei?" asked Sakurako, sounding near tears.

Negi fished for an answer. "Leaving!" he said; he then grabbed his backpack and ran towards the door, slipping beside Madoka and heading out.

Both of them were still in shock, but Madoka shook it off first. "So, Ako... How was it last night? Did you two have fun?"

Ako grinned. "Definitely," she said. "That is one night I will _never_ forget."

**(Endnote) I had to do it this way; it just seemed too good to pass up, Ako doing a oneshot with Negi's age-enhanced form. Oh, and a challenge for you: I guest-starred a character from another famous anime series during the concert. See if you can guess who it is.**


	5. Passions V

Negi stood where he was, dazed. 'Is that all you got?" asked Evangeline. "I would think someone of your magical strength could do a little better against a lowly old vampire like me…" Just then, Negi fainted and crashed to the ground.

In seconds, Konoka and Setsuna were by his side; Setsuna gently lifted up his head and placed it on the seated Konoka's lap. Konoka began to gently stroke his hair while Setsuna turned to Evangeline. "You think that you can drink his blood, send that powerful of an attack at him, and still expect him to hold his own against you? Who cares how much magical power he has; if he can't convert it to physical strength, which I doubt even _you_ can do, Evangeline, he'll never be able to beat you."

Evangeline shrunk back a bit, then smiled evilly. "Normally, Setsuna," she said, "you simply keep to yourself. Why is it that you're now so eager to defend the Sensei? Could it be you've fallen in love with him also?"

Setsuna blushed. "Even if I have," she said, "it has nothing to do with what we're talking about."

Evangeline grumbled. "Fine. You think your precious sensei needs to rest, then go ahead. You can spend the night here, then head back in the morning." She walked away and called over her shoulder, "Tell boya when he wakes up that he still owes me from last week!"

Setsuna walked over to Konoka. "Will he be alright?" she asked.

Konoka looked at her. "He's extremely weak, so we should probably lay him down somewhere to rest. He should be fine by morning."

Setsuna found she could breathe again. "That's great. But where are we going to sleep?"

Konoka said, "I saw a cabin over there; we can stay there tonight."

They walked over to the house that Setsuna could have sworn wasn't there when they entered Evangeline's resort, and opened up the door. They found it fully furnished, with a shower, kitchen, and dining area. Carrying Negi carefully, they went into the bedroom and tried laying him on a bed. Problem was, there wasn't one.

"What kind of bedroom is this, that they don't even have beds?" asked Setsuna. "Where are we going to put Negi now?"

Konoka went into the living room, then came back. "There's a pretty big couch in the living room; it could probably fit all three of us comfortably."

Setsuna went and laid Negi on the couch, then walked back into the room where Konoka was. "We should make some dinner," said Setsuna. "I'll help you cook," replied Konoka.

The two entered the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator; it was stocked with everything they'd need. "Perfect," said Konoka. Setsuna looked and saw she was holding a box of spaghetti. "Let's make this," said Konoka. "I know you like spaghetti."

Setsuna smiled. "I sure do, Ojou-sama."

Konoka started to boil the water, while Setsuna chopped the mushrooms and onions to put in the sauce. She finished quickly and noticed Konoka staring out into the living room, where Negi was sleeping. She walked up to Konoka and wrapped her arms around her waist. "What are you thinking about, Kono-chan?" she asked.

"I just wonder… why Negi always tries so hard at everything: being our teacher, learning magic from Eva-sama… it's almost as though he's trying to prove something to someone… though to who, I can't imagine…"

Setsuna smiled. "Whatever Negi's reasons are, he holds them in high regard. He must, to endure the things he has…" She laid her head on Konoka's shoulder, and Konoka leaned her head over so it was touching Setsuna's. They stood there like that until Konoka heard the water boiling. She walked over to the water, holding onto both of Setsuna's hands; she let go of one and dumped the spaghetti into the pan, then turned it down a bit. Putting the sauce into a pan, she added the mushrooms and onions to make it perfect. All that time, she held firmly to one of Setsuna's hands, and when she had finished, she turned and wrapped her arms around Setsuna's shoulders, pressing her breasts against Setsuna's.

"It'd be funny if Negi-kun woke up right about now and saw us like this," remarked Setsuna, and Konoka laughed. "I think he'd understand," said Konoka as she leaned in towards Setsuna. The pair met in the middle, and Setsuna laid her forehead against Konoka's, before passionately kissing her. Konoka returned the kiss with just as much vigor, and the two simply stood there, lips pressed together, both happier than they had been in ages.

Dinner was soon ready, and the two sat down to eat. It wasn't long before they had finished; their appetite that night wasn't for food. The two walked into the den, and Konoka began to take her clothes off while Setsuna looked for a blanket. She found one and came back into the living room. Laying the blanket over Negi, she took her own clothes off and lay down beside Konoka. Setsuna lay her head on Konoka's bare breast, and Konoka reached her hand down and began to stroke Setsuna's hair.

"You know something?" asked Setsuna, looking up at Konoka, though she kept her head where it was. "I think I remember us doing this once before, when we were kids. One of the only times I ever got to spend the night at your father's house."

Konoka giggled. "Yeah, I remember that. I think it was the first time we ever kissed each other, too."

"I believe it was," said Setsuna. "We were the best of friends back then… but I had to move away, and it… it was like the passion we once had died."

"For the longest time, when you came back to Mahora," said Konoka, "I thought you hated me… you would never talk to me."

"I was simply trying to keep you safe from those who hunted me," Setsuna said. "I see now that it was a mistake. We missed out on so many fun times we could have had... But here we are, with our teacher in the same bed as us, and we're naked and talking about being in love with each other as kids."

Konoka laughed. "Kind of weird, isn't it?" She looked down at Setsuna. "Do you care that I'm in love with you?"

Setsuna looked surprised. "I don't know about the rest of the world, but I don't mind at all. Do you care that I'm in love with you?"

Konoka leaned her head down and kissed Setsuna. "Does that answer your question?"

Setsuna smiled, then climbed on top of Konoka, so that their bare breasts were touching each other. Setsuna slid one hand between their touched breasts, then the other. She leaned in and kissed Konoka, while rubbing her hands between the pair's breasts. "I love you," Setsuna whispered. "Forever and a day."

Konoka felt tears welling up in her eyes. "If only we could stay like this forever," she whispered. Setsuna smiled, then removed her hands from Konoka's breasts and hugged her tightly.. Konoka laid her head on Setsuna's shoulder, and Setsuna did the same to Konoka. There they lay, not needing a blanket, for the love they felt for each other was warmth enough for them.

Soon, Setsuna whispered to Konoka, "Do you know what I want more than anything else in the world?"

"No," said Konoka. "What?"

Setsuna said, "To finally be able to tell everyone that I truly love you. I can't stand having to dance around the subject whenever I'm asked if I'm in love with you. I want to be able to yell; 'Hell yes, I'm in love with her!!!' If only the world didn't look down on things like that…"

Konoka kissed Setsuna on the forehead. "The world may look down on us, but if we don't look down on ourselves, then who cares?"

Setsuna looked up at her, tears in her eyes; they could see that the love they shared was true, strong, mutual. She kissed Konoka, then their eyes closed, their hands moving around on each other's bodies, feeling, fondling, caressing…

Morning came too soon for Evangeline. "Dammit," she said, "why does daytime have to be so bright?" She looked out at her cabin. "I wonder if boya is alright…" She began to walk out to the cabin, Chachamaru following her.

Eva reached the cabin first. Peeking her head in the door, she said, "Okay, you three. Rise and-" She stopped dead at the sight of Setsuna laying on top of Konoka, both naked, and Negi lying on the other side of the couch. Evangeline popped her head out, then quietly shut the door.

"What's going on, Master?" asked Chachamaru.

With a tear sliding down her face, Eva replied, "Something I'll never get to experience… Come on, Chachamaru. Let's leave them in peace."

Chachamaru followed Evangeline to the house. "What will you never get to experience?" she asked.

Evangeline turned around, tears coming down her face. "True love," she replied; then she turned around and went back inside.


	6. Passions VI

**(Writerr's note: This one is definitely rated "M".)**

**(This takes place a bit later on in the Negima series; Negi is 14, and Nodoka and Yue are both 18.)**

Squining into the sunrise, Nodoka could barely make out Negi's small form. 'What in the world is he doing now?" she asked herself. "He was training all last night, now he's back at it again? He's going to wear himself out if he keeps going like that…" Just then she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hey Nodoka! We're going swimming. Wanna come?"

Nodoka turned around to find Haruna standing there, already in her swimsuit. "Come on," Haruna yelled, "the water's fine!"

Nodoka giggled. "You've already been in?"

"Of course," replied Haruna, "me, Yue, Asuna, and Konoka have all been swimming for the past hour and a half while you've been up there staring at Negi-kun…"

Nodoka blushed. "Fine, just let me get changed first."

Taking one last look at Negi training, Nodoka stepped into her room from the balcony and stripped down until she was naked. She walked across the room to find her swimsuit, but it wasn't in the drawer she had last put it in.

"I swear, if Yue hid my swimsuit again…" she muttered as she ruffled through her drawers trying to find it. Suddenly, she heard the door open. Frantic, she reached for a sheet and managed to pull it over herself just as Yue walked into the room. Yue noticed that Nodoka was holding a sheet over herself and said, "So Nodoka, why are you holding that sheet?"

"I think you know why…" muttered Nodoka. Suddenly, Yue darted forward and ripped the sheet our of Nodoka's hands, exposing her naked body. "Oh, so that's why you were holding that…"

Nodoka began blushing furiously. "Yue, give that back!!"

Yue held it just out of her reach. "If you're looking for your swimsuit," she said, "it's in the bathroom… where you left it.."

"Oh… yeah…" Nodoka said, running into the bathroom so no one could see her nakedness. Yue laughed; a motion from the window caught her eye, though, and she turned around to see someone duck under the window.

"Damn peeping toms…" she thought, as she walked over to the window to shut it; however another thought occurred to her, one that made her stop cold. "Wait a second," she thought, "there are only two guys that are here right now, and I highly doubt Kotaro would try and peek in on Nodoka… Madoka, maybe, but not Nodoka. That only leaves Negi,… and I know he likes Nodoka, but I don't think even he would try to peep in on Nodoka as she's changing…"

Nodoka emerged from the bathroom, clothed in her swimsuit. "You went with your two-piece today?" asked Yue. "Anyone you're trying to impress?" Nodoka fidgeted slightly. "No… not really…" she said, the words barely audible; Yue laughed and said, "Come on, Nodoka, let's go swimming."

They walked out of the room, and they had made it about two steps when a crazy thought entered Yue's mind: "Nodoka and I have been best friends for years, and yet we've never really held hands once… I see other girls doing it all the time, and I get really jealous whenever Nodoka gets to hold onto Negi's hand…"

Yue turned to Nodoka. "Say…" she began, "would you object if I asked you if you wanted to hold hands with me?"

Nodoka looked at Yue, surprised. "What made this come up?"

Yue told her what had just been on her mind, and Nodoka smiled. "You know, you're right. We really need to." Nodoka then reached out her hand and took Yue's in her own. "Wow…" thought Yue, "I never noticed it, but Nodoka's hands are really smooth… no wonder Negi likes holding hands with her so much…." Little did she know that Nodoka had begun to blush furiously again; she was thinking the same thing about Yue, and a plan was forming in her mind for that night.

They reached the water's edge, and Haruna turned to ask them where they had been, but stopped cold when she saw them holding hands. "Hold on…" she thought, "they were up there an awfully long time… and now they walk down here holding hands… what the hell did they _do_ up there?" Little did she know that Nodoka had invoked her artifact without Haruna knowing and, sneaking up behind her, she whispered in her ear, "You'll never know, will you?" Haruna jumped about ten feet in the air, causing Nodoka and Yue to both laugh hysterically.

Nodoka jumped into the water. "I-it's c-c-COLD!!!" she yelled, and Haruna laughed. "There's payback for what you just told me." Nodoka glared at Haruna, and Haruna laughed again. Just then, Yue slipped behind Nodoka and, launching herself at her, tackled Nodoka, knocking her into the water. "Oh, that's it!" Nodoka said when she finally came up for air. "It's on now!!" She ran (as fast as the water would allow her to go) to Yue and jumped on top of her in a tackle; they both went under and, because of the motion of a wave, Nodoka's hand slipped down and accidentally grabbed Yue's breast.

Nodoka tried to pull her hand away, but Yue reached her own hand up and grabbed Nodoka's hand, locking it in place. Nodoka's mind was racing, and when she looked down at Yue, she was motioning for Nodoka to come down to where she was. Nodoka did so, and in an act that surprised Nodoka, Yue puller Nodoka closer and kissed her.

Nodoka's eyes grew wide, but then she saw Yue's eyes were closed; "She's never looked this… peaceful before," Nodoka thought, so she simply closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

They were down there for at least a minute, before Yue broke away and, grabbing Nodoka's hand, led her back up to the surface. They broke the surface, and Yue brushed some stray hairs out of her face. "Did you like it?" she asked Nodoka, a mischievous grin on her face.

Nodoka blushed and said, "Yes. You're a very good kisser." Yue laughed, and the two walked back to the shore, still holding hands, though this time, the water hid their actions.

Soon, it was time to get out of the water, and Haruna, Yue, and Nodoka all headed back to Yue's room. "How about I cook dinner tonight?" asked Nodoka. The other two looked surprised, for they had never heard of Nodoka cooking, too. "Sure, go ahead," said Yue. The three stepped into the room, and in unison they jumped, as they saw who was already in the room.

"Hey, girls," said Negi. "How's it been?"

Nodoka was the first to recover her composure. "Um, Negi-kun…" she said, "what are you doing in our room?"

Negi laughed. "I was waiting for you guys to get finished swimming, of course."

"What I think Nodoka is asking," said Yue, "is how did you get in here?"

Smiling, Negi said, "You two forgot to lock the door when you left."

Suddenly, Haruna said, "I think I'll leave you three alone. I'll see you in the morning." Haruna left, leaving Nodoka, Yue, and Negi alone in the room together.

"So," said Nodoka, "what do you guys want for dinner?"

The three thought. "Ever had chicken cacciatore?" asked Negi. "It's really good."

Nodoka said, "I have, but I don't know how to cook it."

Negi replied, "It's easy. I'll help you out." The two left, leaving Yue alone in the main room.

Yue got to thinking. "What on earth possessed me to do that to Nodoka back there? I'm not even that open to kissing Negi, much less Nodoka. She's my best friend, not to mention the same gender as me…" Her mind ran wild with fantasies, and one got so strong that she had to sit down on the couch in the room. "There's no way we could do something that… that… erotic, especially not here in Eva-dono's resort… But the desire to do it is getting really strong… I wonder if Nodoka would go along with it?.. I mean, it'd be different if it was just Nodoka and Negi… but throwing me into the mixture, too…"

Yue snapped out of her thoughts and headed into the kitchen. She got about a foot away when she heard Nodoka say, "No, Negi, not yet!!!" She ran into the kitchen, where she saw Negi holding a chicken breast and Nodoka holding her hand out. "It doesn't go in the spaghetti for another ten minutes, Negi. I remember that much about cooking this."

Laughing to herself, Yue went into the living room again; this time, she found herself way too warm for her comfort, so she stripped down until she was completely naked, then lay down on the couch. She barely registered a familiar smell ("Why does this couch smell like Konoka?") before she passed out.

She woke up about two hours later and found, after a quick search of the place, that Nodoka and Negi weren't there anymore. After slipping into her pajamas, she went into the kitchen and found a plate of chicken cacciatore in the microwave, still warm; sitting down by the table, she began to eat.

"Wow…" she said aloud, "Negi and Nodoka really did a good job on this one…" At the thought of Negi and Nodoka, her imagination kicked back in, and she began to feel an odd sensation below her waist. "I really do want this, don't I?" she asked herself. The sensation grew stronger and stronger, until finally, Yue couldn't take it anymore. She slipped her pajama bottoms down a bit and began to run her fingers up and down her groin; she thought that would at least make the feeling a bit more bearable, but she found it only grew in intensity. She slowly began making her way inside herself, feeling a sensation she'd never felt before. Taking two of her fingers, she slid the rest of the way inside herself, and she threw her head back in pure ecstasy, moaning.

Yue found that after that, she felt much better, both about the idea and in general, so she finished eating, washed her plate, and came back into the living room. As she walked in, she found Negi and Nodoka on the couch, kissing. Nodoka noticed Yue first, and she broke away. "Oh, hey, Yue," said Nodoka. "How'd you like the dinner?"

Yue grinned. "I never knew you two could cook that well. You make a good team." Both Negi and Nodoka blushed when she said that. Yue finally decided that this was the time, and she said, "Nodoka? Could you come into the kitchen with me?" Nodoka got up after kissing Negi one last time, and they both went into the kitchen.

"What's up, Yue?" asked Nodoka.

Yue's face began to grow very red. "Um, Nodoka… I know that you and Negi wanted to… do it tonight, and-"

Nodoka's eyes bulged. "How- how'd you know that?"

Yue laughed. "Nodoka, it's written all over your face. Anyways, this may seem like an extremely odd request, but… would you mind… if I joined you two tonight?"

Nodoka gasped. "You mean, like… a threesome or something?"

Yue said, "That's exactly what I mean."

Nodoka's mind began to race. "Oh, man, I've been wanting this to happen for ages… But there's no way that Yue could have known about this… could she? Oh, who cares… tonight's going to be amazing!!"

Nodoka finally spoke. "It's kinda funny, but I broached the idea to Negi while we were out. He actually agreed to it."

Now it was Yue's eyes that bulged. "Negi… actually wants to have a tbreesome with you and me?"

"Looks like it," said Nodoka. "You want to get started?"

Yue replied, "Those are the sweetest words I've heard in ages." She then ran up to Nodoka and kissed her; Nodoka kissed back, and the two backed up into the living room. They could hear Negi say, "Y'all are getting started already?"

Yue and Nodoka made their way to the couch, where Negi had already stripped down. Yue smiled at Nodoka. "You first."

Nodoka laughed, then jumped on top of Negi. The two began to kiss, then Negi's hands reached up and started fondling Nodoka's breasts. Nodoka's back arched, as Negi's erection began to grow. Negi removed one hand from Nodoka's breasts, and reacning for Nodoka's vagina, slid two fingers in. Nodoka moaned, not wanting the moment to stop. Finally, Nodoka was ready and, positioning herself above Negi, she took Negi's hand out, then slid onto his groin.

Immediately, the two began to feel it coming on, and Nodoka moved herself up and down on Negi's groin. Both felt the best they'd had in ages and, as one, the two climaxed, and their act was complete.

Nodoka lay down on top of Negi, his groin still inside her. "That… was amazing." Nodoka said.

"You're not too bad yourself," replied Negi, a bit out of breath. Nodoka laughed. Negi turned to Yue. "Now it's your turn."

Yue walked toward Negi, as Nodoka got off him and took her position on the other side of the couch. Negi lay completely down on the couch, and Yue sat by Negi. "You're on top this time," Yue said, and Negi grinned. Yue lay down on the couch, and Negi got on top of her.

The ritual began again, and Negi's fingers found their way into Yue's vagina. "This is _much_ better than when I did it," Yue thought, as she cried out. Negi then lowered himself into Yue, and began to thrust in and out. Nodoka walked over to the other side, and, bending down, kissed Yue; her hand reached out and fondled Yue's breast, this time on purpose.

Within minutes, both Negi and Yue had come, and it was over for the three of them. They simply sat there on the couch, naked, not minding; Yue took Negi's hand, and Nodoka did the same on the other side.

Just then, Negi spoke up. "Hey girls, I just realized something."

"What's that?" asked Nodoka.

Negi grinned. "The blinds were open the whole time."

**(Writer's Note: Hope you all don't mind I made this one a little more hentai than my previous works. At least Nodoka finally got her threesome with Yue and Negi…)**


	7. Passions VII

It was a day like any other day. Negi woke up and got dressed while his morning tea was boiling. When the tea finished, he added the sugar and drank it slowly, savoring its taste. He heard Asuna call out from the bottom bunk, "You awake yet, Negi?"

"Yeah," said Negi. "Glad to see you're going to make it to class on-time today."

Negi heard Asuna growl at him from below, and he laughed. Strapping on his backpack and staff, he took off, heading out of the dorm and down the street to his classroom. He arrived there with not much time to spare, though, as he ran (literally) into a traffic jam, as all the other students made their way to class. He walked up to his desk, noticing a familiar figure standing there. When he turned around, Negi's face lit up.

"Takamichi!" he said. "What brings you to your old classroom?"

Takamichi smiled at Negi. "We've got something to talk about. Can we do it outside?"

"Sure…" replied Negi. The two went outside, and a minute later, Negi came back in, visibly shaken. He took roll, then turned to the class.

"As you all know," he began, "the class field trip to the carnival is going to be in a few days." He smiled as the class burst into cheers, already planning what they were going to do there. "But we've hit a bit of a snag." The class quieted down almost instantly.

"Do you mean we can't go after all?" asked Fuka.

"There's a possibility that might be the case," said Takamichi, stepping into the room; at the sight of him, Asuna began to blush furiously. "We're about $400 short to make this happen. If you all can find some way to raise $400 in three days, then the trip is still on. It's going to be hard, but I know you all can do it." He smiled at Negi. "You've got the right teacher to do it, too." He stepped out of the room.

"Okay, so there you have it," said Negi. "We need to get to work on this today, so I'll allow you to spend the next 15 minutes planning what you want to do for the fundraiser." Negi sat back down in his chair, while the students whispered excitedly. Just then, he heard a small voice from his bag: "YOU PUT ME IN THE BAG AGAIN?!?!"

Negi smiled and opened his bag, revealing something small, white, and furry. "Sorry, Chamo-kun, but I couldn't wake you up this morning.."

Stretching, Chamo hopped out of the bag and onto Negi's shoulder. "Anyways…" Chamo said, "what're all the kids doing?"

"We're about $400 short for the field trip in a few days, so they're planning something to do for a fundraiser," replied Negi.

Chamo's eyes widened. "You've got to raise $400 in three days? You've got a good mind, Aniki, but I don't think you can do even this…"

Negi laughed. "Oh, come on, Chamo-kun. We've got Chao-san, Nodoka-chan, Hakase-san… we're bound to come up with something."

Just then, the class yelled, "We've got it!"

Negi looked at them. "Great," he said. "What do you all want to do?"

Haruna was the one who spoke. "We got this idea from figuring out that the trip was on a Friday. We're going to do a 'Raffle Off Negi' contest!"

Negi's jaw dropped. "You're going to do a WHAT?!?!"

"A 'Raffle Off Negi' contest. Since the trip's on a Friday, we can raffle you off so that the winner gets to spend the entire day on Saturday with you- doing _anything_ they want to you."

Negi's eyes grew wider and wider. "And let me guess," he said, "it was Ayaka-san who suggested that." At this, Ayaka's eyes bulged. "How- how'd you know that, Negi-sensei?" The whole class laughed. "It was a bit obvious," Yue said to Ayaka.

Negi got to thinking. "If Ayaka-san wins this thing, I'm screwed… but then again, she might not… so…" Negi smiled. "Okay, whatever. If it'll get you guys the money to go on the trip, then count me in." The class cheered; just then, Misora got an idea. "Hold on," she said to Mana, "let me go call someone." Misora ducked below her desk and began to make a phone call.

Throughout the next three days, Nodoka (who was appointed treasurer [unanimously for the project) kept track of who bought the raffle tickets. And Negi grew increasingly more nervous; he did _not_ want Ayaka to win this contest.

Soon (too soon for Negi), the three days were up. Nodoka got up to the front of the class and announced, "Congratulations, guys. We raised over $700 for the trip. It is still on!" The whole class cheered. Negi leaned over to Nodoka. "Who's the one who won the contest?"

Nodoka smiled. "You'll just have to wait till Saturday to find that out, Negi-kun."

Friday, they left for the trip. Negi sat in front, while the rest of the students piled in behind him. Just then, he heard someone say, "Hey Negi-kun, do you mind if I sit here?" He looked to see who it was.

"Oh, Takane-chan. No, I don't mind at all."

Takane sat down beside him. "Um, Takane-chan," said Negi, "how'd you get invited here?"

She laughed. "I received a personal invitation from Takamichi. It seems he wants me to keep an eye on you." Negi glowered at her. "Why would he think that?"

Takane laughed. "Calm down, Negi-kun, I'm just messing with you. I'm here to enjoy myself, and for no other reason." Soon, the bus took off, and the class cheered again. Since it was about a three-hour drive, a lot of the students settled in for a nap. As Negi made the first of his rounds, he saw Konoka snuggled up to Setsuna, both looking very happy. "Somehow, this scene seems familiar to me…" he thought, before shrugging it off and walking down the aisle again.

A little further down, he saw Yue already asleep, Nodoka leaning against her still awake. Negi smiled at Nodoka. "We'll have to do that again sometime." Nodoka smiled. "Definitely, though I think I'll tell you beforehand so you don't freak out seeing me in your bed." Negi laughed, then went back to the front of the bus.

"Everything okay?" asked Takane.

"All's well," replied Negi, settling back into his seat.

"That's good…" Takane muttered, and she leaned her head back on the headrest, falling asleep in seconds. Negi found himself growing tired also; noticing that Takane's lap might make a good pillow, he smiled to himself, then laid his head on her lap and was asleep in minutes.

Takane woke up about an hour from the carnival. Noticing something heavy on her lap, she looked down to find Negi asleep, his head on her lap. Her face flushed the brightest red. "Wh-what in the world is he doing?" She stared at him a bit more, and her face softened. "Wow… he's normally pretty cute the way it is, but when he's asleep… he looks like an angel." She ran her fingers through his hair, thoroughly enjoying the experience. "O…nee…chan…" Negi muttered in his sleep, and Takane smiled, a tear running down her face and splashing onto her lap.

The hour flew by, and the bus pulled into the parking lot. "Alright, everyone," said Takamichi over the loudspeaker, "we're here." The class was awake in a matter of seconds and were rushing out the door. The noise of the stampeding feet woke Negi up; he looked up to see Takane smiling down at him. "Did you have a good nap?" asked Takane.

"Very," replied Negi. "You're quite comfortable." Blushing, Takane muttered her thanks. Negi got up and walked up to Takamichi. "Say, Takamichi…" he started to say.

"No, Negi," he said, "I can't tell you who won the contest." He smiled. "What I _can_ tell you, though, is that Ayaka-san was not the winner."

Negi's mouth dropped. If it wasn't Ayaka who won the chance to spend the whole day with him, then who was it?

Negi walked over to Asuna's group. "Mind if I spend the day with you guys?" Asuna looked around at the other members of her group- Yue, Nodoka (who was blushing furiously), Konoka and Setsuna (who were, amazingly, holding hands, both smiling), and Haruna, who also had a grin on her face and was blushing slightly. Asuna turned to Negi. "Sure, that works." The rest of the group members cheered. Negi took Asuna aside.

"You want to know something weird?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess," said Asuna.

"Ayaka-san wasn't the one who won the contest," said Negi.

Asuna's jaw dropped. "She didn't win? I figured anyone with that much cash, who had as mad of a crush on you as she does, would buy up all the tickets herself."

"My thoughts exactly," said Negi, "but Takami- er, Takahata-sensei wouldn't tell me anything else about it."

Just then, he heard Yue's voice. "Come on, you two, we're headed in."

Asuna took off, and Negi followed slowly after her. "Who in the world could have bought that many tickets to knock Ayaka-san out of the running?" he thought. Just then, he noticed someone walking beside him. He looked to his left and smiled. "Hello, Nodoka-chan," he said.

Nodoka smiled. "You ready to go in the festival?"

"Definitely," Negi said, and he reached out and grasped Nodoka's hand. Nodoka's blush became stronger (if that was even possible); she held tightly to his hand and the two walked into the carnival.

It was a great day for all of them, especially Haruna; she was able to get Negi to go onto the ferris wheel alone with her, where she finally got up the courage to kiss him; surprisingly, he warmed to the occasion, and Haruna left knowing she had just made out with, to her, the cutest teacher ever.

Negi found he slept easier on the way back than on the way there; instead of Takane sitting with him (she had opted to sit with Takamichi), Negi had the privilege of having Nodoka sit by him; she fell asleep, her head on his shoulder, and the two held hands the entire way back.

Saturday came too quickly for Negi, and he went over to Nodoka's room to find out who it was he was doomed to spend the day with. Nodoka smiled. "Now, that'd be ruining all the fun, wouldn't it? I'm going to give you an address; go there, and you'll find your blind date for today. Though I wish it were me…" she said, blushing.

Negi grinned. "I'll make it up to you, Nodoka-chan. I promise." He leaned in and kissed her, then walked out of the room.

He got to the street, then looked at the address. Yue had obviously written it down, because he could hardly make out what the address was; finally, after he cast a clarification spell, he figured it out, then walked to the edge of the campus, where he got on his staff and sped off.

After about a five-minute ride, he got to the destination. Dismounting, he gazed at the house in wonder. It was two stories, white with light blue shutters and doors; a garden was growing beneath one window. "This… this is perfect," he said to himself. Dread came over him as he thought of who could live here; he knew he couldn't make… whoever it was waiting, though, so he knocked on the door. The door slowly opened, and a girl on crutches came into view. Negi recognized the pink hair immediately, though.

"Mei-chan?" he asked, a look of shock on his face.

Mei Sakura smiled. "What, who were you expecting?"

Negi smiled. "Someone… different, I guess. How'd you know about the contest to begin with?"

Mei blushed. "Well, Misora-chan called me and told me about it. I figured I had to enter, 'cause… well, I really wanted to spend the day with you today. I hate it that we can't do anything major, though; I broke my leg hiking a few days ago…"

Negi smiled. "That's actually perfect. The class just got back from a field trip to the carnival, so I'm a bit tired. A day inside sounds perfect…" His face grew red. "Especially if it's with you."

Mei was surprised at that. "Please come in, Negi-kun," she said, stepping gingerly out of the way.

Negi got an idea. "Have you had lunch yet today, Mei-chan?"

"No," she replied, "I can't really cook that well on these crutches…"

Negi smiled. "Then allow me to cook for you today. What do you have?"

Mei blushed again. "Well… this is actually Takahata-sensei's other house, so I'm not sure what he's got." Negi walked into the kitchen and looked through the cabinets; he had to stand on a chair to do so, though, and Mei got a kick out of that.

"Well…" Negi said after a few minutes, "about the only thing Takahata-sensei has here that I actually know how to cook is spaghetti. How does that sound?"

Mei's eyes widened. "Wow, I've been craving spaghetti for days now… I didn't know there was some here the entire time." She smiled. "I'd love for you to cook for me today."

Negi blushed and turned to put some water on the stove. Mei sat down at the table and just stared at Negi for awhile. "He's got an entire class full of girls, most of them a lot prettier than I am… I can't ever see him liking me… no matter how in love with him I am."

Negi's voice jarred Mei from her thoughts. "You went to school in America, didn't you?"

Mei smiled. "Yes, at the Johnson School of Magic. I'll tell you, American culture is _way_ different from our own."

Negi turned to Mei, intrigued. "How so?"

"Well, as I found out, it's not too hard to get into a university over there. Also, we were always told to keep the school of magic a secret."

Negi's eyes widened. "They don't accept magic over there?"

"Where do they accept magic these days?" asked Mei. "But over there, magic seems to be something only found in fantasy worlds. I found a copy of some kind of best-selling book that was over there… Harry something… Harry Potter! That was it! Anyways, it's all about a boy who goes to a school of magic, though his experiences were nothing compared to Johnson."

Negi laughed. "It seems magic is sort of a taboo over there, from what I've read." Noticing the water was boiling, he added the spaghetti, then turned the water down. He turned to Mei. "Have you ever had a chance to have a glass of beef water?"

Mei looked confused. "No… I don't believe so."

"It's really good," said Negi. "I'll make one for you." Soon, her drink was ready. She took a sip and her eyes widened. "Wow," she said, "this _is_ good. Where'd you learn to make it?"

"I read about it in a book on America. Seems it's kind of popular over there."

**(Writer's note: Seriously, that actually is really good. Take a glass of water and heat it up in the microwave; after it's hot, pour a packet of beef broth into the water [from a package of ramen noodles or just a block of beef bouillon and drink it. I find it calms me down a lot; it'll raise your sodium content by a bunch, but it's good.)**

As Mei was drinking, Negi turned to her. "So what do you want to do after lunch?"

Mei smiled. "Well, I guess we could just watch some movies. What do you like to watch?"

Negi blushed. "Well… I've always liked Disney movies…"

Mei laughed. "Negi, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I have just about every Disney movie made. Here, we can watch one while we eat." They spooned the spaghetti onto their plates, then went into the living room, where Mei put "Pinocchio" into the DVD player; they settled in on the couch, and Mei snuggled up next to Negi.

They watched the movie in silence, not even touching their spaghetti; they didn't even think about eating. Every once in awhile, Negi would glance up at Mei and find her looking back down at him. He smiled and laid his head on Mei's shoulder; he felt her reach over and take his hand; he closed his hand around hers, and the two of them sat there, even after the movie ended and the credits rolled. Mei got the remote and turned the TV off; they continued to sit there, until Negi fell asleep; his head slipped off Mei's shoulder and fell onto her lap. Mei simply smiled and began stroking his hair, her other hand still holding Negi's hand.

Pretty soon, Mei was asleep as well. They both awoke around 5:30, and Mei smiled down at Negi. "How was your nap?"

Negi smiled. "Very good. You're quite comfortable."

Mei laughed and put on another movie; Negi looked up at her and asked, "You… don't mind if I stay like this, do you?" Mei looked at Negi; raising him up a little, she bent down and kissed him; he returned it, and the two sat there like that for awhile. "Not at all," Mei said after they broke apart; she returned him to his position on her lap and they sat there like that and watched the movie.

Soon, Negi decided it was time to go. "I had a really great time today, Mei-chan," said Negi.

Mei blushed again. "Yeah, it was fun."

Just then, Negi got an idea. "Here, I think I can help you out." He muttered an incantation, and Mei felt an odd sensation in her broken leg. "Try it out," Negi said. Mei gingerly applied a little pressure to her leg; when it didn't hurt, she lowered it more and more, until it was fully on the ground. She stood on it, and it held her weight up fine. Mei turned to Negi, a look of incredulity on her face. "You… you fixed my leg."

Negi smiled. "It was the least I could do to begin to pay you back… for just doing this for me today." He walked up to Mei and kissed her; she kissed him back and backed him up against the door. His hand looped around her waist, and her hand came up to the back of his neck. No one knows how long they stood like that, their passions come to life, but Negi found himself not wanting it to ever stop. Soon, though, Mei broke away and smiled. "I love you, Negi-sensei; I really do."

Negi smiled. "And I love you, Mei-chan. I'll be stopping by here soon, to come visit you."

Mei smiled. "I'd love that." As Negi walked away, Mei called out, "Forever and a day, Negi." Negi turned and waved, calling out, "Forever and a day."


	8. Passions VIII

For the fifth time in the past half-hour, Negi found himself flat on his back. He slowly got up, his back aching from hitting the ground one too many times. "Ku Fei-san," said Negi, "why do we have to do all this? I'm already getting more than enough training from Eva-master…"

"Eva train in magic," replied Ku, "but magic only go so far. Strength better for everyday life."

Negi knew she was right, so he readied his stance once again. He lunged at Ku, striking out with a left hook. Ku blocked it and spun around to trip him up; Negi dropped to one knee and swept his right leg across the ground, hitting Ku in the one leg she still had on the ground. Ku backflipped and landed perfectly in a crouching position. "Better," she said, smiling, "but you still have much to learn." She ran at him, and Negi ducked, extending his arm. Ku's eyes bulged, and she tried to stop in time, but motion took over; she hit Negi's outstretched arm and vaulted over it, landing on her back.

Negi backpedaled a few steps, so he was standing over Ku Fei's body. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Ku Fei smiled. "You do good. Is first time you could flip me."

Negi laughed. "And I don't believe I will be doing it for awhile, either." Just then, Kaede walked into the gym. "Come on, Ku Fei, we're headed to the park. Wanna come?" Just then, she noticed Negi standing there.

"Hello, Sessha," Negi said, and Kaede blushed. "Hello to you, too, Negi-kun." She looked at Ku, confused. "How'd you end up on the ground like that?"

Ku smiled. "Negi-sensei very good."

Kaede laughed. "Okay, come on, let's get going." She turned to Negi. "Have a good afternoon, Negi-kun." Negi smiled. "As to you, Kaede-san."

As the two left, Negi couldn't help but let his gaze linger on Ku. "I really do get a lot of good training in when I'm with her, but… I'm always focused on the training and not on the trainer… She really is kinda cute, especially when she looks so determined, like when we train…" Negi brushed those thoughts aside and walked out, still limping a bit. He hadn't gone too far when someone jumped down from the roof and tackled Negi. They rolled onto the grass, laughing.

"Kotaro-kun! What was that for?" Negi said, still laughing.

Kotaro grinned. "You just looked so… serious. I had to."

Negi laughed. "Now could you help me up? I'm still a bit sore from Ku-san's training…"

Kotaro helped Negi to his feet. "You're still training with Ku-san, even though you're getting the hell beat out of you by Eva-san?" Kotaro asked.

Negi said, "Well, it's like Ku-san put it: Magic can only go so far; for the rest, I need to be strong."

Looking a bit confused, Kotaro said, "Well, isn't there a way for you to get stronger without nearly killing yourself training?"

Negi was amused by this. "This is coming from the 'Hey, let's go train even though it's 3:00 in the morning' guy? I'm surprised."

Kotaro scowled, then launched himself at Negi again; Negi was ready this time, and he blocked Kotaro's fist easily; what he didn't count on, though, was the leg-sweep Kotaro performed at the last moment, and Negi found himself on his back… on the ground… again.

"Why…" Negi muttered, "why didn't I see that coming?"

Kotaro laughed. "I saw you use that trick on Ku-san, so I had to see if you'd be ready to have it used on you. Guess not…"

Negi jumped up. "Okay, get back here!" Negi began chasing Kotaro, both laughing; they almost ran into a group of girls, but took no notice of them. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" yelled Haruna.

"Hey, wasn't that Negi-kun?" asked Nodoka.

Yue strained to see the pair, as they were a good distance off by then. "Yep, Nodoka, it was… and if my eyes didn't deceive me, that other one with him was… Kotaro, I think his name was." Just then, Yue remembered what Kotaro had said to her about love. "I'll be right back, guys. You two head to the library, and I'll meet you there in a bit." Her eyebrows narrowed. "I've got something to take care of…"

Yue found Kotaro and Negi sitting on a park bench, talking. Negi noticed Yue first. "Ah, Yue-san," Negi said, smiling. "I assume you enjoyed yourself at our little get-together a few days ago." Yue smiled, blushing furiously. "Yes, Negi-kun, it was _the_ best time I've had in ages." She turned to Kotaro.

"Ah, crap, it's you!" Kotaro yelled, finally recognizing her. "You were the one who I got into that argument with… Listen, I'm really sorry about what I said."

Yue was about to say something that involved PG-13 rated vocabulary, but at this, she simply let her mouth hang open. "I've heard a lot of things about you, Kotaro-san, and one of them is that you're an extremely prideful person. So, needless to say, I'm a bit shocked at this."

Kotaro smiled. "Yeah, well, I do tend to fly off when I'm challenged about things. But I get now what you're saying about love: that it's needed in order to find true strength."

Yue smiled. "Well, from the other things I've heard about you, whichever girl you're with is extremely lucky to have such a faithful friend." Kotaro's eyes filled with tears, and he looked away so no one had to see him.

Turning to Negi, Yue said, "I never really got to congratulate you formally on doing so well in the MahoraFest martial arts tournament. I admit, myself and Nodoka were a bit worried when you faced Ku:nel-san, but you turned out alright."

Negi smiled. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun."

Yue smiled back, still blushing a bit. "That's good you said that, because I've got a proposition for you- and Kotaro, if he's interested."

Kotaro turned to Yue, his eyes a bit red. "What's that, Yue-san?" he asked.

Yue smiled. "Not many people are going to know about this, but… Ku Fei-chan had so much fun at the MahoraFest martial arts tournament, she's decided to hold her own tournament."

At this, Negi's eyes grew wide. "When is it?" he asked.

"Well," replied Yue, "you're automatically in it, Negi-kun; she pre-registered three people and issued invitations to five more. One of the five was Kotaro-san, so that's why I'm asking him to. So Negi, you're in no matter what. Apparently, she wants to see if you've got what it takes to beat everyone. Oh, and the last opponent faced in the tournament will be Ku-san herself."

Negi smiled. "She wants to face me, in front of whoever is there. She wants to find out who really is best. Well, tell her I'm in."

"Count me in, too," said Kotaro.

Yue laughed. "Excellent. I'll tell her the news."

"Um, Yue-san," said Negi, "you never said when it was."

Yue looked confused. "I didn't?" she asked, then shrugged. "Oh well. It's tomorrow afternoon, at 5:00, in World Tree Park."

Negi's eyes bulged. "T-tomorrow? How does she expect me to train? I've got teaching duties!" Just then, they heard a voice from behind them.

"Balance is key to win."

Kotaro and Negi both turned to find Ku Fei standing behind them, smiling; with her were Chao and Satsuki.

"Good afternoon, Chao-san, Satsuki-san," said Negi. Chao bowed and Satsuki inclined her head, blushing a bit.

"If you want win," said Ku, "find balance in fighting and peace."

At this, Kotaro scratched his head, perplexed. "What the hell is she talking about?" he muttered. Negi, on the other hand, seemed to understand immediately.

"Yes, Ku-san," Negi said. With a bow, Ku and her companions left.

Negi turned to Kotaro. "Well?" he said. "Let's start training."

Tomorrow came too soon, and Negi and Kotaro found themselves at the meeting place before they knew it. Just then, Negi heard a very familiar voice behind him: "N-Negi-kun? You're here, too?"

Negi turned around, and a grin split his face. "It's good to see you out and about, Mei-chan. Did you get invited to the tournament, too?"

Mei smiled. "Yeah, as soon as Ku found out my leg was healed." She tipped him a wink as she said that, and Negi blushed. Kotaro turned around to find out who he was talking to, and his eyes grew wide.

"Hey, I remember you!" he said. "I fought you at the MahoraFest contest."

Mei smiled. "Yes, you did, and I still can't figure out how you did that without even touching me…"

Kotaro laughed. "A blast of air, that's all it was."

Mei looked amazed. "I don't think I would have thought of that. Well, I know you don't like to hit girls, so I guess you beat me without breaking that rule." Kotaro was amazed, for that was exactly why he did it the way he did. Smiling, Mei walked up to Negi and took his hand; Negi took hers, and the three walked towards the meeting area.

Ku was standing there with five other people, and when he saw Negi, she began blushing immediately and said, "Ah, Negi. You almost late. We start soon."

When Negi, Mei (who refused to let go of Negi's hand), and Kotaro made it up to the stage, Ku got a microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, here the eight contestants: Negi Springfield, Mei Sakura, Kaede Nagase, Kotaro Inugami, Kita Minamura, Nodoka Miyazaki," (Negi's eyes grew wider than ever and he looked over at the contestant indicated; sure enough, Nodoka was standing there, looking about ready to faint) "Nana Kurumiya, and… Asuna Kagurazaka."

Negi thought to himself, "Wow… two of my students are in the tournament… How Nodoka-chan got invited, I don't want to know."

"Now," said Ku, "you will see who you face."

Everyone looked up at the board, and Negi's eyes widened when he saw who the pairings were.

**Negi Springfield – Kaede Nagase**

**Kotaro Inugami – Mei Sakura**

**Kita Minamura – Nodoka Miyazaki**

**Nana Kurumiya – Asuna Kagurazaka**

Negi turned to Kaede. "Good luck, Sessha." Kaede smiled. "This should be good, Negi-kun. Do your best."

The first matches were intense: Negi ended up barely beating Kaede, Kotaro won against Mei (despite Mei's use of a different artifact, one that looked strikingly similar to Negi's staff…), Nodoka defeated Kita by using _her_ artifact to stay ahead of Kita's moves, and Asuna used her _harisen_ to soundly defeat Nana.

With the first rounds over, there was a fifteen-minute break, and Kaede walked up to Ku Fei. "You do well," said Ku. "Negi-kun very talented."

Kaede smiled. "It was a pleasure to finally face him. Although I couldn't help but notice you stared at him the whole time, even when he wasn't fighting…"

Ku blushed. "Is nothing."

"Oh, is it now?" Kaede asked. She leaned over to Ku. "You should tell him how you feel, after the tournament."

Ku's eyes widened. "No… Negi my disciple. I could no do that…"

Kaede laughed. "Oh, come on. I'll be with you for moral support."

Ku still looked unsure, but said, "I guess I need be brave. I will tell."

Soon, the next matches began; the first pairing was Kotaro and Negi. "Hell yeah, Negi!" Kotaro yelled. "We're finally getting to have our fight!"

Negi smiled. "Don't take it easy on me, okay?"

Kotaro looked at him funnily, then smiled as the bell rang. "Wasn't planning on it!" he said loudly, then lunged at Negi. Negi ducked as Kotaro's fist came his way, then swung his leg to trip Kotaro. Kotaro was ready for it, though, and he jumped, doing a half-backflip so he was doing a handstand on Negi's leg. "Gotcha," he said, and swung his legs around in a whirlwind kick. Negi used his hands to block it, only a few inches from his face. He threw Kotaro's legs around, causing Kotaro to lose his balance and fall on the ground. Negi launched himself at Kotaro in a body-slam, but Kotaro jumped out of the way, and Negi was forced to improvise, landing in a crouch position. He turned to Kotaro, just in time to see him pull a card out of his pocket. Negi's eyes widened.

"There- there's no way he could have Pactio-ed with someone; the only girl he likes is Madoka, and she doesn't know about magic yet… does she?" Negi thought.

Kotaro laughed. "Watch and learn, Negi!" He ran at him, faster than Negi had ever seen him run before, and before Negi knew it, Kotaro's fist smashed into his face, and Negi went flying backwards, landing on his back. Negi jumped up immediately, but Kotaro was there, and Negi felt both Kotaro's legs hit his chest; Negi crumpled to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

"Is that all you got?" yelled Kotaro tauntingly. "I thought Ku-san's training would have done you a whole lot more good!"

Ku's face flashed into Negi's mind. "I may be in love with her," he thought, "but that's not why I do this…" Negi planted his hands on the ground and flipped forward, smashing his legs against Kotaro's chest; Kotaro flew backwards, flipping, and landed on his stomach. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he yelled, and ran at Negi, swinging at full force; the only thing he connected with, however, was thin air. He heard Negi say something from behind him, and he turned around to see Negi all the way on the other side of the ring, grinning. "How- how'd he get over there that fast?" Kotaro thought. "Okay, Negi!" he yelled, "this is where it ends!" Kotaro gathered his _chi_ into his hands and, with a yell, fired a massive ball at Negi. Negi's hands went up to fire a ball of magical energy at him, but Kotaro's ball hit him before he even had the chance to mutter a spell. A blast shook the arena, and the whole crowd gasped.

Kotaro's knees buckled. "That… that was enough to kill him!" he realized. "Negi!" he yelled. "Are you alright?"

It wasn't for another ten seconds that the dust cleared, and when it did, Kotaro was amazed at what he saw. Negi was standing up, unharmed, the ball of _chi_ held in one hand. Negi incanted a spell and jumped high in the air. "It's my turn, now!" yelled Negi, as he used his magic to fire the ball from his hand. It hit Kotaro, defenseless on his knees, and the ball punched a crater into the stage.

Negi landed and ran over to Kotaro. As the dust cleared, Kotaro stood up, badly bruised and cut. "You… you were awesome," said Kotaro. "I guess… now… now we know who the better one is…" Kotaro fell flat on his back, and the ending bell sounded. A man rushed up with a stretcher and carried Kotaro away; he muttered to himself as he carried him, "What the hell kind of fight was that?"

After Negi and Kotaro's fight, the next one was a bit anticlimactic, as Nodoka stood no chance against Asuna; even with Nodoka's artifact, Nodoka lost handily, though Asuna didn't do too much physical harm against her, being afraid of killing her. The round before the championship pitted Negi against Asuna; even with Negi only using his staff against Asuna's _harisen_, Negi still managed to (barely) win.

Ku stepped up to the microphone. "Now, the last match. Negi will face me."

Negi stepped up. "Let's see what you got, Ku-san."

Ku smiled, then took a stack of coins out of her pocket.

"Wait a second…" thought Negi, "isn't that how Mana beat Ku during MahoraFest?" He saw a glint of a coin, but it was too late to stop it, and it smashed into his knee, causing Negi to fall to the ground. Negi smiled through his pain. "Nice technique, Ku Fei. Where'd you learn it?" Ku was startled, and found herself on her back a moment later, as Negi had used Kotaro's air-blast technique (Kotaro having taught it to Negi before the contest) to land a blow on her from far away. Ku got up slowly, to find Negi standing in front of her; a well-aimed kick sent the coins flying from her hand and all over the ground.

Ku smiled. "I will do hard way, then," she thought, and swung her fist around at Negi. Negi was ready, though, and he ducked and stuck his arm out. Ku hit it and for the second time found herself on her back, Negi's staff pointed at her throat.

"I win," Negi said.

The ending bell sounded, and the breathless crowd began to roar. "Ladies and gentlemen," said Asakura, who had come up to the stage to take over Ku's duties, "I give you the winner of Ku's tournament: Negi Springfield!!!"

The crowd cheered again, and Negi reached down to help Ku up. "Was good fight," said Ku. "You have good sensei." Negi laughed. "I sure do," he said.

A little while later, Ku and Negi visited Kotaro, who was sitting on a bench, his arm wrapped in a sling. "Sorry about putting… a little too much force into that last attack," said Negi.

"Ah, it doesn't matter," said Kotaro. "That was _the_ best fight I've ever had; even my battle with Kaede-san didn't compare to that."

Negi remembered something. "During the fight, you pulled out some kind of card. Was that a pactio card?"

Kotaro laughed. "What, this?" He pulled out an oversized playing card. "Just trying to trick ya."

Negi grinned. "Well, it worked. It probably would have even fooled Kaede-san."

"Speaking of…" said a voice from behind them, and they all looked to see Kaede walk up to them. "Let's leave poor Kotaro alone," Kaede said. Ku, Negi, and Kaede walked off; after a little ways. Kaede winked at Ku and left, leaving Ku and Negi standing there.

"You were an excellent fighter," said Negi.

Ku smiled. "Yes, but fighting not everything."

Negi was irresistibly reminded of Yue and Kotaro's banter, and he smiled. Ku spoke again: "Negi… there something I want tell you."

Intrigued, Negi said, "Okay, what is it?"

Blushing, Ku said, "I… I love you."

Not expecting this at all, Negi's eyes bulged. "When… when'd you decide this?"

Ku replied, looking down at ground, "At MahoraFest, watching you fight. You look more… determined, more amazing than anyone else. That was when I fell in love."

Negi smiled. "I'm not the best in the world at this, but I think I can manage," he said; he leaned in and kissed Ku. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him; they stood there for awhile, not seeing Kaede watching them, not noticing the look of jealousy on her face…

After awhile, they broke apart. "We'll have to train sometime," said Negi.

Ku smiled. "We will, Negi-kun." She walked away, smiling brighter than she ever had before. Negi stood there, smiling; he felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around his chest, and he took both her hands in his.

"You were great," said Mei. "I just wish I could have beat Kotaro… He was very good, though."

Negi smiled. "There's always next time." Mei walked beside Negi; they took each other's hand, then walked back to Takane's car to go home.


	9. Passions IX

Classes let out early that day, and all the Mahora students rejoiced at having a three-day weekend, for Labor Day. Negi, on the other hand, had to stay in his classroom, having to make up a test for the day his students returned to class.

Since no one was in the classroom, Negi figured he'd make it easy on himself, so he decided to use a little magic. Whatever he thought of, an enchanted piece of chalk wrote it down on the board for him; every once in awhile, he turned around to check what he had thought of. He was just getting into writing the test when he heard the door open; he quickly ended the spell and looked up to see a grin and an art book walk in.

"Hello there, Haruna-chan," said Negi. "What can I do for you?"

Haruna walked in, an amazed look on her face. "Negi-kun, you're not stuck in here, are you?"

Negi smiled. "No, not really; I just wanted to get your tests made for Monday, so I wouldn't have to do it over the weekend."

"Not a bad idea," said Haruna, "but I've got a better one for you."

Negi leaned back in his chair. "I'm all ears."

Haruna grinned. "I thought you might be. As it turns out, the arcade just got a new game in."

Negi looked puzzled. "You know I don't play video games much, Haruna-chan."

Haruna's eyes grew wide. "I thought _everybody_ was a video game addict… Anyways, I think you'd really like this one, Negi-kun. It's a virtual-reality simulator, one that you can do literally _anything_ in…"

Negi leaned in, his interest piqued. "Anything, you say?"

"Yup," said Haruna, "anything. I was thinking about going down there now that class is out for the long weekend."

Negi got up and grabbed his backpack. "Let's go, then."

Haruna smiled evilly. "I thought you had to finish your tests, Negi-kun."

"I did," replied Negi. "You didn't see me doing them during our conversation?"

Haruna laughed. "You're good, Negi-kun." Negi just smiled, then held the door open for Haruna to exit. Soon, they were out in the streets, walking side-by-side. They were about halfway to the arcade when Haruna reached out and took Negi's hand. Negi's head swiveled in Haruna's direction. "Wh-what are you doing?"

He was surprised to find Haruna blushing. "Just… something I've wanted to do for awhile, Negi-kun."

Negi's hand closed around Haruna's. "I can't deny the wishes of my students," said Negi with a wink, which only caused Haruna to blush even harder. They got to the arcade after awhile, and they found a sizeable crowd there already. Sakurako was doing crowd control, and her face lit up when she saw Negi and Haruna there, though she looked a bit jealous at Haruna holding Negi's hand.

"It's about time you two got here," Sakurako said. "Yue wanted to talk to you two." The pair walked in, letting go of each others' hands as they entered. Yue and Nodoka were standing by a pinball machine, and Nodoka blushed when she saw Negi. Yue simply smiled. "Hey, Haruna. Welcome, Negi-sensei."

"So, what did you guys want us for?" asked Haruna.

Yue grew serious. "Someone issued us a challenge- you, me, Nodoka, Asuna-chan, Konoka, and Negi-sensei. A six-on-one Battle Royale here at the VR machine- _all spells allowed_."

Negi's eyes widened. "So… you think it's really a mage that issued the challenge?"

"It has to be," replied Yue. "And it'd have to be someone who knows us all well, because the only ones outside the class who know you're a mage are the teachers, Takane-san, and Mei-chan."

"So, do you think it was a student or a teacher?"

"Probably a student, I'd guess," said Nodoka.

"The question is, who?" came a voice from behind them. Negi turned around; his face broke into a wide grin.

"Welcome to the party, Asuna-chan," said Negi. "Glad you could make it."

Asuna smiled. "This thing tomorrow's gonna be fun… though I'll need your help a bit, Negi," she added in a whisper. "I'm still not too good with the whole magic thing."

Negi grinned. "You got it, Asuna-chan."

"Well, as long as we're out and about," said Konoka, who had just joined them, "do you guys want to go out for dinner?"

"Sounds good to me," replied Asuna, smiling at Negi as she said it. Negi blushed slightly. "Why'd she just look at me like that?" he thought to himself.

Luckily for Negi, who was running a bit short on money, Konoka and the others chose an outdoor stir-fry place that Negi knew was pretty inexpensive but had never been to before. After ordering, it was only a few minutes before the waiters brought the food out; Negi tasted it and found it very much to his liking. He was a bit nervous throughout the meal, though- he was sandwiched in between Asuna and Haruna, both of whom he suspected of having a crush on him.

"What'd happen if it turns out both of them like me?" Negi thought as he munched on a water chestnut. **(Random Writer's Note: Those things are addictive as hell if you eat 'em straight from a can…)** **"**I already know that Nodoka likes me, and I have a hunch Yue does, too, but now Asuna and Haruna, too? Now what?"

"Come on, Negi," called Yue. "We're leaving."

Negi looked up to find the girls already a good distance away, waving at him. "Coming!" he yelled. Just then, a pair of hands covered his eyes. "Who is it now?" he asked. No response came, so he turned around- and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What- what was the idea with that, Chao-san?"

Chao grinned. "Just trying to scare you, sensei."

Negi's heart began to slow. "Well, it worked."

Laughing, Chao said, "I need to get going. Good luck tomorrow." She tipped Negi a wink, then walked away. Negi's mind raced. "What'd she mean by that? Could she know about the VR thing tomorrow?" He got up and went over to where the girls were sitting on the bench.

"Who was that with you back there?" asked Nodoka.

Negi hesitated. "Chao-san," he responded.

Asuna choked on the milk tea she was drinking. "Huh? Come again? What did Chao want with you?"

"She just said 'good luck tomorrow' then left."

Haruna's eyes got wide. "Could she know about our thing tomorrow?"

"I asked myself the same thing," said Negi. "Did the word accidentally get out to someone who's close to Chao-san?"

"I don't think so," replied Yue. "We kept it pretty much a secret amongst ourselves."

The whole way back, everyone's mind was on what role Chao would play in the VR match the next day- everyone, that is, except for Haruna, who was too busy thinking about Negi to do much of anything else. "I never noticed it fully before," she thought, "but Yue and Nodoka are right- Negi _is_ really cute. There's no way he'd like me, though. Not with Nodoka and Yue fighting for him… And what was with Asuna today? Does _she_ like Negi, too? Wow…"

The next day came faster than they thought, and at exactly 2:00, they met at the arcade. They stepped into the arcade, ready to do it- until they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Welcome, Negi-bozu. Welcome, my classmates."

They all spun around, mystified.

"It- it's you!" gasped Yue.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**(Writer's Note: Sorry I had to end it like this, but y'all deserve a few cliffhangers every now and then. lol, but seriously… I'm not sure how the whole VR thing is going to turn out, so I'll post the second part a little later, once I get the whole thing down. Sorry to those of you who were expecting the full thing; what you think may or may not come about- you'll just have to wait.)**


	10. Passions X

**(This one picks up where "Passions II" left off.)**

"…going to get there?"

Haruna jerked her head up; she had fallen asleep while leaning against a lightpole. "Huh?" she asked sleepily. "What'd you say?"

Yue glared at her. "I said, how are we going to get there? None of us can drive yet…"

"The festival's only five miles away, isn't it?" asked Negi.

"As far as I know," said Yue.

"I think I can take the three of us on my staff," said Negi. "We'll have to stick to the woods so we won't be seen, but it won't take us very long. I can go pretty fast on it."

The four went into the woods, and Haruna, Yue, and Nodoka got on Negi's staff. "Hold on tight," said Negi, and he took off. Even with the three girls and Negi on the staff, it kept up a relatively fast speed. Negi noticed Nodoka was looking a bit scared.

"Feel free to hang onto me, Nodoka-chan," said Negi. Nodoka looked at Negi, her face red as a beet; she put her hand down and laid it on Negi's, her fingers intertwining with his own.

"This'll be fine," whispered Nodoka, so only Negi could hear her. Negi could feel her face grow hot, probably as red as Nodoka's face.

Soon, Negi got tired of weaving amongst the trees, so he cast an invisibility spell over the staff, then sharply cut upward. "What- what in the world are you doing?" asked Yue, her voice a bit shaky.

Negi smiled. "You'll see." They passed the treetops, and Negi leveled out. The three girls' jaws collectively dropped.

Negi had positioned them so they could fully see the sun beginning to come up. It was as though God had made that sunset the best ever just for them- they had seen many sunsets before, but none as beautiful as this one. "Is it because we're so far up?" Nodoka asked herself, "Or is it because I'm up here with N-Negi-kun?"

They stayed there for a few minutes, simply gazing out at the sunrise; Yue moved forward on the staff and laid her head on Negi's shoulder, while Nodoka moved in and placed her head on Negi's other shoulder. Negi's mind went into overdrive.

"This… is awkward," he thought. "I've got two _very_ cute girls asleep on me… and one that isn't too bad herself just staring out into space. I know… I'm supposed to be looking for a partnr- or at least that's what Chamo-kun said I was supposed to be doing… I really think Nodoka and I have something special, but… what about Yue-san or Haruna-san? What do I do about them? They're Nodoka's best friends…"

It wasn't too long before they arrived at the carnival site. No one was there, so Negi continued to ride his staff, all the way to the front gate. There, he saw a sign.

**Carnival Will Open At 9:00 A.M. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.**

"Ah, dangit," said Negi.

"What is it?" asked Haruna. She looked at the sign. "We gotta wait three hours for it to open?!?!"

"Guess so," replied Negi.

Haruna motioned to a picnic bench. "Let's just go over there and sit and wait."

Negi smiled. "Good idea, Haruna-san." They rode over to the bench; Haruna dismounted and sat down on the bench. She was asleep in seconds. Negi, on the other hand, sat down, after laying Yue and Nodoka down on either side of him, and laid both their heads in his lap. **(Writer's Note: It's a **_**very**_** big bench.)** "This… would be really awkward if one of them woke up right now," Negi thought, seeing Yue's forehead leaning against Nodoka's.

The three hours seemed to pass like minutes to Negi; despite being extremely nervous about having two cute girls asleep on his lap, he enjoyed finally being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time (Asuna and Konoka keeping him up a lot). At 9:00, the gates opened up, the rides began to warm up, and Nodoka, Yue, and Haruna woke up from their naps. Nodoka and Yue immediately began blushing when they realized where they were.

"Negi-sensei, I-I'm so sorry!" stuttered Yue. "How- how'd we end up laying on you."

Negi smiled. "You two sleep pretty heavy. Anyways, the park just opened up, so do you guys want to head in?"

Nodoks smiled. "Yep, I'm ready."

Negi went up and paid for the tickets, seeing as the girls were still waking up a bit. He walked over to them. "I got the tickets here. Let's go."

Once they were in the park, Yue turned to Haruna and whispered something in her ear. Haruna grinned. "Great minds really do think alike, Yue." Yue laughed. "So, it's settled then." She turned back to Nodoka and Negi to find both of them with confused expressions on their faces

"I… I'm kinda scared to know what you just told Haruna," said Nodoka.

"Yeah, what _did_ you tell her?" asked Negi.

Haruna grinned again. "You'll find out later."

Negi looked Haruna straight in the eyes. "It wouldn't happen to be another plan to get me and Nodoka alone together, would it?" Nodoka flushed when he said that, for that was exactly what she wanted that day.

Haruna's face grew red, and she leaned over to Yue. "He's onto us," she whispered harshly. "Play it off," Yue responded, not even moving her lips. Haruna had always been impressed at Yue's ability to do that.

"Why would you think that, Negi-kun?" Haruna asked him.

"Well, let's see," said Negi, "you managed to do it last night, get me and Nodoka alone in the room together for practically the whole night."

Yue looked at Negi, a bit surprised. "I thought you said you had fun, Negi-sensei…"

"Never said I didn't," replied Negi, winking at Nodoka; her face grew even redder.

"Okay, you guys, come on," said Haruna, very impatiently. "We got some fun to have!" Negi started walking towards Haruna and Yue, who had already gone a bit further ahead. Negi soon heard a small voice behind him: "Um… Negi-sensei?"

He turned around. "What is it, Nodoka-chan?"

"Well…" she began, "I was wondering… if maybe… I could hold your hand for awhile…"

Negi smiled. "I don't see why not," he said, holding out his hand. Nodoka's face grew its reddest yet, as she reached out and grasped Negi's hand. Negi's fingers intertwined with Nodoka's, their palms pressing together. "Oh my God, I'm in heaven…" thought Nodoka. "This… has always been a dream of mine… to actually be out on a date with such a cute guy as Negi-kun… one who I can actually stand to be around, one who I can trust finally…"

Haruna and Yue led the group over to the tilt-a-whirl. "You all up for it?"

Nodoka's eyes grew wide. "Come on, Haruna, you know I don't like those kinds of rides…" Negi, on the other hand, said, "Alright! Let's do this!"

Nodoka backed away a bit. "I'll stay out here and wait for you guys."

"I'll stay with you," said Negi, feeling a bit guilty

"N-no, you don't have to do-"

"I know I don't," said Negi. "I just want to keep you company while Yue-san and Haruna-san are doing their thing." Nodoka smiled, her face growing red again. "I can deal with that," she said.

Nodoka and Negi went over to a bench and sat down, as Yue and Haruna waved to them, then entered the ride. Nodoka looked over at Negi. "Negi-kun… I know you probably want to go have fun…. You can leave me here, I won't care."

"No, honestly, I'm having fun," said Negi. "I think it's fun hanging out with you."

Nodoka looked down, her eyes filling with tears. "You're one of the only one who thinks so…" she muttered.

Negi looked at Nodoka, a look of genuine shock on his face. "I don't get it, Nodoka-chan. You're a great person; why wouldn't people like to be around you?"

"They… think I'm just someone who's always got their nose in a book, and that's all I care about," she said. "They don't give me a chance… Guys or girls. I think that's one of the reasons why I like you so much, Negi-kun. You're always there if I need to talk to you about something… You're not like the other guys I've known in my life…" (Her hands began to tremble as she said this.) "And, you're really cute. Can't forget that!" she said with a laugh. Nodoka looked over at Negi, to see his eyes tearing up. Nodoka moved in closer to Negi; the pair leaned in, their lips touched-

"Hey, Nodoka! We're back!"

The two pulled apart just in time- Yue and Haruna came up over the hill, looking right at them. Yue was the first one to notice that both Nodoka and Negi were teary-eyed. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, everything's fine," said Negi. "Where to next?"

"It's getting to be lunchtime," said Haruna. "How 'bout we go get some food." At that exact moment, Negi's stomach rumbled. "Good idea," he said, and everyone laughed.

Once again, Haruna and Yue led the way, with Nodoka and Negi lagging behind, holding hands again. "Sorry we got interrupted," said Negi.

Nodoka just smiled. "I know a place where we can do it without interruption."

The four had an excellent lunch together. When they finished, Haruna leaned over to Yue. "Is it time?" Yue nodded.

"Alright," said Haruna, getting up and stretching, "Yue and I are going out on our own. So you two lovebirds are on your own until dinner. We'll meet back here… six o'clock, we'll say. Ciao." They took off before Nodoka or Negi had a chance to protest.

"I made them promise they wouldn't leave us alone…" muttered Nodoka to herself.

Negi heard it too, though. "Do you not want to hang out with me? It's fine if you don't."

"No!" said Nodoka. She calmed down a bit. "No, Negi-kun, that's not it at all. It's just that… I'm not really quite sure on how to act around guys. I mean, I spend all my time with girls, so…"

Negi reached over and took Nodoka's hand. "Don't worry about acting polite or anything. We're here to have fun."

Nodoka's hand closed around Negi's. "You… sure have a way with words, Negi-kun."

"All I can do is try," said Negi. "So where to first?"

Nodoka smiled and gripped Negi's hand. "Follow me." She began to weave amongst the people; they kept it up for about five minutes before Negi said, "Do you know where you're going, Nodoka-chan?"

Nodoka smiled, slowing down a bit. "Of course I do, Negi-kun. Me and my dad used to come to this festival all the time when I was little.

Negi looked over at Nodoka, intrigued. "Now, this is the first time I've ever heard _you_ talk about _your_ family, Nodoka-chan…"

Nodoka laughed. "There's not much to tell, really. My childhood wasn't the best in the world, but me and my dad were inseparable…"

"Where's your dad now?" Negi asked. One look from Nodoka told him it was a painful subject for her.

"Never mind about that," Negi said quickly. "Where did you want to take me?"

"To mine and my dad's favorite ride," replied Nodoka. They took off again; it wasn't too long until they stopped again. "This is it," said Nodoka. Negi looked up and smiled.

"The Ferris wheel?" he asked.

'Yup," said Nodoka. "I've always loved the view from the very top…"

Negi pulled Nodoka forward a bit. "There's not much of a line; thus, not much of a wait. Let's go." They walked to the line, still hand-in-hand. The wait was about five minutes, then they found themselves in a yellow car. Negi sat down, and Nodoka snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder.

Slowly but surely, their car rose into the air, as the other passengers entered and exited their cars. It wasn't long before everyone was on, and the wheel began to turn slowly; Nodoka reached over and took Negi's hand.

"This… is my idea of fun," said Nodoka.

Negi smiled. "This is my first time on one of these… but it's definitely fun." He leaned in and kissed Nodoka on the forehead. "Mainly cause you're here."

Nodoka's face grew bright red. "Just wait till we hit the top," she said.

The Ferris wheel completed a few circles, then stopped, Negi and Nodoka's car at the very top. Negi turned around so he was leaning against Nodoka's shoulder; he looked out across the horizon.

"Wow!" Negi said, "it's beautiful. I can see for miles!"

"I used to come here even when my dad couldn't come," said Nodoka, "just so I could ride the Ferris wheel. This is the best view ever, to me." She giggled. "If you don't count me staring at you all the time…"

Negi laughed. "Not much of a view there, I'll tell you that."

Nodoka spun Negi around and, before Negi could say anything, she kissed him. He was a bit surprised, but he received it, closing his eyes and enjoying Nodoka's soft lips pressing against his own. Neither of them could tell how long they were like that, but they broke apart.

She looked into his eyes. "Now, this is the best view ever."

"I agree completely," said Negi, looking into Nodoka's eyes.

Just then, a loud voice came over the intercom: "We're sorry to inform you all on the Ferris wheel right now that we're having some… erm… technical difficulties right now. So just stay calm, and we'll have this fixed in no time."

Negi looked at Nodoka, then lay down on his back. Nodoka understood immediately, and lay down so her stomach was pressed against Negi's. For the fifteen minutes the ride was stuck, they lay there, Nodoka's breasts pressing up against Negi's chest, the two locked in a passionate kiss.

The ride began to move again, and Nodoka got up, allowing Negi to do the same.

"This was _the_ best time I've ever had, Neg-kun," said Nodoka.

"I'd have to agree," said Negi smiling. The ride stopped at the bottom, and Negi and Nodoka got out, their hands pressed together, holding on as though they'd never let each other go- and both Negi and Nodoka knew that that was the case.


	11. Passions XI

"You wanna go down to the pool, Negi?"

Negi awoke with a start. He groggily looked at his alarm clock; he couldn't see the time, though, due to Chamo sleeping right in front of it.

"What time is it?" Negi said, his voice betraying his tiredness- he had been out late the previous night training with Evangeline again. He raised himself up so he could see who was talking to him.

"It's a bit past noon," replied Konoka. "Did you want to go to the community pool with us?"

Negi flopped back down onto his bed. All _he_ wanted to do was go back to sleep; Konoka had asked so nicely though, so he muttered, "Yeah, sure."

"Great!" said Konoka. "Asuna'll be back in a minute; she went to go round up some more people to come with us."

Negi rustled around in his drawers; he knew he had packed a pair of swimming shorts. Finally, he found them, and he snuggled down under his covers to change. Just then, the door opened, and Konoka gasped.

"Wh-what? Asuna… how many people want to come with us?"

"It's the middle of the summer," replied Asuna. "My offer attracted quite the crowd." She looked around the room. "Where's Negi?"

"Changing," replied Konoka. "Under his covers."

"I'm gonna go scare him," Asuna said quietly. She snuck over to the loft and climbed the stairs slowly. When she got to his covers, she ripped them off, only to comedically fall down to the ground below, but not before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"What is it?" asked Konoka, running over to Asuna to help her up.

"That little brat!" replied Asuna. "He went back to sleep!" She tore up the stairs leading to his bed; she activated her _harisen_ and swung it in Negi's direction. Negi opened his eyes just in time to see the fan swinging towards his face; he put up an incantationless magical barrier, and Asuna's _harisen_ simply bounced off the shield. She continued to swing wildly at him, while those who had gathered outside the door started to laugh, enjoying the show.

"Alright, alright already!" Negi said, deactivating the magical barrier and dodging to the side before Asuna's fan could hit him again. "I'm up!"

Asuna settled down. "There, now was that so hard?" Everyone, including Negi, shared a laugh.

"Okay, you guys," said Haruna from the back of the group, "we'd better get going to the pool before it gets too hot for us to walk." Everyone agreed, and they all slowly began to file out into the hallway. Negi noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Akira-san?" Negi asked.

"Not sure," replied Asuna. "She wasn't there when I went around collecting everyone…"

Everybody was anxious to get swimming, so the trip to the pool didn't take very long, and as soon as they got there, everyone jumped in, Negi included. Well, almost everyone- Yue and Nodoka simply sat on some lawnchairs, trying to get some sun. "We'll swim a bit later," they said.

Negi got out of the pool to head over to the diving board, when he noticed a tall figure emerge from a swimming lane further on down. When she shook her very long black hair out of her eyes, he recognized her immediately.

"Akira-san!" Negi yelled. That got her attention; she looked up and, seeing who it was, broke into a smile.

"Fancy meeting you here, sensei," she said, walking over to him. "You all managed to get all of 3-A out here, didn't you?"

Negi laughed. "Yes, well, you can blame Asuna for that. If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing?"

This time, it was Akira who giggled. "Well, Negi-kun, if you really want to know, I have my regional swimming finals tomorrow. I was practicing for the 100-meter relay."

Negi's eyes widened. "Congratulations on getting to regionals," he said.

"Thanks," said Akira, blushing slightly. "I'd better get back to practicing. If you guys can't come tomorrow, I'll just tell you about it on Monday."

Negi grinned. "Sounds like a plan." Suddenly, Akira reached her arms out and pushed Negi into the water. By the time he had gotten back to the surface, Akira was already back to her practicing. Negi heard laughter behind him; he turned around to see Paru and Konoka in hysterics.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't _that_ funny," Negi said, a bit of a low growl in his voice. This just served to make them laugh harder. Scowling, Negi launched himself underwater and began to swim.

Monday morning rolled around, and Negi found himself once again in front of class 3-A, ready to teach them English. Just then, Akira walked in.

"Akira-san!" said Negi. " How'd your regionals yesterday go?"

Akira looked extremely happy that someone had asked her about it. "As a matter of fact, Negi-kun," she said, "I placed in the top three, which means I'm headed off to the national competition in three days."

"Wow, Akira-san, that's amazing!" Negi said.

"Th-thank you Negi-kun," she said quietly, her blush returning.

"Alright class, quiet down," Negi said. "Give me a minute to find my roll book, then I'll take attendance."

Class went by fine for both teacher and students; once Negi dismissed them, they all left- all except for Akira, who only got up after everyone had left.

"Can I help you with something, Akira-san?" Negi asked.

"Actually, yes," she said. "The nationals, in three days… I happen to have an extra ticket. A friend I had bought the ticket for originally can't make it. I was wondering… maybe… if you wanted to go with us."

Negi's eyes grew wide again. "You want me… to come with you?"

"You don't want to?" Akira asked, a bit of hurt in her eyes.

Realizing she had misinterpreted his answer, he quickly added, "No, that's not it at all. It's just kind of funny, I was thinking to myself that I wanted to go see you, but I didn't have a ticket."

"Well, now you do," Akira said, smiling. "If you want, my parents can come pick you and me up before the meet. It's going to be in Kyoto."

"I'd love to go!" said Negi.

Akira smiled. "Until then, sensei." She bowed and exited the room.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this," he said to himself, packing his books up and leaving.

**Three Days Later**

After Negi's class let out, Akira met up with him in the hallway.

"You ready to go?" she asked.

Negi smiled. "Been packed since yesterday. We need to run by my room so I can get my bag, then we can head out."

After Akira and Negi got his bag, they walked out to Akira's parents' car. They were waiting outside for them.

"Mom, Dad," Akira began, "this is my English teacher, Negi-sensei."

"It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you," her mother said, shaking Negi's hand.

"Likewise," said her dad, who also shook his head. He turned to Akira. "I hope you don't mind, Akira, but you'll have to sit in the back with Negi."

"Not a problem at all," she said, winking at Negi. "What's that supposed to mean?" Negi thought.

The car took off down the highway; Negi soon found that Akira's father was a _very_ fast driver. Soon, though, Negi got a bit tired; he laid his head back against the seat and was asleep in a minute. Akira looked over at Negi, just in time to see him fall over, his head coming down onto Akira's lap. She was a bit shocked at first ("This… is a bit awkward…") but when she looked up into the rearview mirror and found her dad smiling at her, she decided she didn't mind Negi being there at all. She started lightly stroking his hair, not wanting to wake him up. "I feel like Ayaka…" thought Akira, then blushed at the thought of her ever loving Negi as much as Ayaka did.

It wasn't too long before they got to the place where her match was going to be. Negi woke up slowly; once he realized where his head was (facing her body, no less), he snapped his head upward, preparing to apologize for falling asleep on her- only to find that Akira herself had fallen asleep on the ride there.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," came her mom's voice from the front of the car. "We're here."

That got her to wake up. "Oh, man, I can't believe I fell asleep…" she said. Remembering that Negi was asleep on her, she looked at him, her face growing a bit red. "Did you have a good nap, sensei?"

Negi smiled. "Yes, very comfortable." They both laughed.

"Come on," her dad said. "You're going to be late."

"Sorry, dad," she said. They got out of the car, and Akira turned to Negi. "I have to head in so I can get ready. I'll meet you and my parents after the meet."

"Okay," said Negi. "Oh, and by the way, I need to tell you something."

Bending down a bit, Akira asked, "What is it?" In return, Negi gave her a quick kiss. "Good luck," he said.

Akira's face grew bright red. "Erm… thanks," she said, speeding off towards the locker room.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked himself as he and Akira's parents went into the spectators' area. "I just wanted to give her a bit of inspiration…"

"The match will begin in fifteen minutes," said the announcer, over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have here with us today, one of _the_ youngest swimmers to make it to the national championships: Akira Okochi, here representing the Mahora Academy high school swim team- before she's even in high school! That's right, folks- she's only 14, and in her last year of middle school." The crowd began to cheer, with Akira's parents and Negi yelling the loudest.

After fifteen minutes, the first racer took off. "Do you have a program?" Negi asked Akira's dad.

He looked a bit confused. "Now that I think of it, Negi-kun, were they even giving them out?"

"I didn't see anyone passing them out," Negi replied.

"I didn't either," Mrs. Okochi said.

"Odd," remarked her dad. "Why'd you want to know?" he asked Negi.

"Just to find out when Akira-san was racing," replied Negi.

"She's going last," said her father.

"That long of a wait?" Negi asked, to himself.

Negi noticed that many of the racers were extremely fast; he started to wonder if Akira had what it took. Finally, it got to the end. "Now, for our last swimmer," the announcer said, "Akira Okochi!!!" The crowd roared again, and again, Akira's parents and Negi were the loudest cheerers, although all the yelling was starting to take a toll on Negi's voice.

Akira took off, her arms and legs pumping. Negi found himself thinking about how good Akira was at pretty much everything. "She's a beautiful girl," he thought. "But I couldn't try anything with her parents around… could I?" He tore his attention from her and back to… her. Her swimming. She was nearing the finish; when she tapped the edge, everyone cheered for her.

"The judges will need about five minutes to figure out who had the best times," said the announcer. "Please don't get too anxious." He gave a short laugh, then cut the intercom off.

"I hope Akira-san does good," said Negi.

Mr. Okochi smiled. "I'm sure she will."

After the five minutes were up, all 15 swimmers made their way to the edge of the pool. The guy came back on the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will now present the awards." Negi leaned forward, eager to see what place Akira got in. She didn't get in fifth…. Or fourth…. Or third.… or second.

"Could she have gotten first place?" Negi asked himself.

"And the winner," said the announcer, "of the 15th annual national swim-off is…" He paused. "Akira Okochi, from Mahora Academy!" The noise in the crowd was deafening; even though Negi had almost lost his voice, he still found enough voice to cheer for her one last time. Akira received her medal; she waved to the crowd and winked at Negi; he felt his face grow red.

Akira soon met up with them; her parents hugged her tightly. "You were awesome!" they said.

"Thanks," she replied. Looking over at Negi, her smile grew wider. "So, how was your first swim match?"

"I think I might do this again," he said, and he and Akira shared a quick laugh. They all got in the car; when her dad turned it on, he saw that it was already 9:30 at night.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mr. Okochi asked his wife.

"Definitely," she replied, a mischievous grin on her face. They pulled out of the parking lot and got back on the road. After awhile, Akira asked, "Where are we going?"

Her parents smiled. "Well, we don't want to drive home tonight, so… we're staying at a hotel tonight."

Akira and Negi looked at each other. "This can't be good," Negi muttered.

"My thoughts exactly," replied Akira.

They soon pulled into the hotel parking lot; Mr. Okochi barely missed hitting a stopsign as he pulled into a spot. He and Mrs. Okochi went in to make reservations, leaving Akira and Negi alone in the car.

"You do realize we'll probably have to spend the night in a room together tonight," said Negi.

"I think we'll manage," she said, smiling at him. Negi felt his face grow red. "Was her smile always that beautiful?" he thought. Soon, mom and dad came back.

"Well, this is what we're going to do," Mrs. Okochi said. "Me and daddy are going to stay in a room, and you and Negi-kun will be in the room next to ours." Akira and Negi looked at each other, both with an "I knew it" look in their eyes. They unloaded their stuff into their rooms; Akira went to go take a shower and Negi flipped on the TV. After Akira finished with her shower; she came out of the bathroom; Negi was about to ask her something when he noticed something odd about her- she was completely naked.

"Um, Akira-san," he said, feeling an explosive nosebleed coming on, "you kind of… well… forgot your clothes."

She simply said, "I know."

Fishing for a change of subject, Negi asked, as he averted his eyes, "What time is it?"

Akira laughed. "It's party time!!"

**The Next Day**

Negi got up, as usual; he got dressed and went down to breakfast. He made his way over to Akira's table, where she was chatting animatedly with Ako, Yuna, and Makie. He heard Ako ask about the previous night, and heard Akira reply, "Oh, me and Negi-kun got to spend the night in a hotel room last night."

Makie looked like she was going to cry. Negi felt it best to step in then.

"Hey, Akira-san," he said. Akira looked up.

"Good morning to you, Negi-sensei," she said. "How'd your hour and a half of sleep go after we came back?"

He laughed. "Not bad, not bad." He winked at Akira. "I had a lot of fun last night." Negi took off before anyone could say anything.

Akira looked over at Yuna and Ako, only to find looks of horror on their faces. Yuna spoke up first: "You didn't… really… did you?"

Akira's face grew bright red. "Oh, come on, Yuna, no way! Besides, he's only ten…"

"So then, what _did_ you two do last night?" asked Makie.

"Oh, that's going to be a secret," replied Akira. "But I will tell you this: Last night was one night that _neither_ of us will be forgetting anytime soon."


	12. Passions XII

The park was quiet, though that wasn't all too weird, considering it was about ten o'clock at night. Not many people were out at this time of night, only some students taking a late-night jog, and maybe a few of the university students making sky charts for their Astronomy class. But all in all, the night was peaceful, quiet- not to mention the air was very cool and inviting.

Which is why Makie loved practicing at night.

Her lithe body moved through the air, a series of leaps and jumps, with a touch of spinning for variety. She seemed to flash in and out of the air, her athleticism showing in her every move. Now, she paused for a second, and picked up her main piece- her baton, with a large flexible streamer at the end of it. Using it like a windmill would use its long, wooden arms, she spun it around in front of her, taking great care not to drop or fumble it.

She practiced like this for a good half hour, before she finally took a quick break, panting, her face covered in sweat. _I've gotta take a quick breather.._. She walked over to where her stuff was at, and picked up a towel that was laying by her bookbag, wiping her face and forehead off with it. A light breeze played through the air, and Makie craned her face towards its source, trying to use every bit of the wind to cool her body down.

After about a five-minute break (and her downing the water that she had in _both_ of the water bottles she'd brought, and refilling them), she walked back over to where her baton lay, and was about to pick it up, when she heard a twig crack behind her. Starting, she spun around to face whoever had made the noise, only to find no one there.

"I'm hearing things..." she said aloud, to no one in particular, as she cast a glance around her in every direction, in case the noise came from a passing jogger, one who just happened to step on a stick that was laying in their path, not wanting to kick it aside.

A fear began to creep into the back of Makie's mind: _It'd be just my luck if there's someone out here, watching me, stalking me..._ She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of that train of thought- if there was one thing that Makie was really good at (besides her rhythmic gymnastics, of course), it was scaring herself for no real good reason.

Finally, she felt she could bend down and pick up her baton again. She did so, not looking around again this time. Just as she was about to straighten back up again, she heard a small voice from behind her.

"Erm... Makie-san? Is that you?"

Her heart jumped up into her throat, as she spun around again to identify the voice; this time, though, she lost her balance, and ended up falling down on her rear. As soon as she hit the ground, she could feel the dampness soaking into her leotard- not to mention her face growing hot and red. She looked up to see who had spoken to her, and was quite surprised at who it was.

"Negi-kun?"

Negi stood a few feet away from where Makie was now seated in the damp grass; he had a bit of a perplexed look on his face. "Are you alright, Makie-san?"

Makie laughed nervously, as though trying to brush it all off. "Yeah, I'm fine. You just... scared me. Kinda."

"Sorry 'bout that." Negi held his hand out. "Here, let me at least help you up."

"Thanks." Makie reached out her own hand, and grasped Negi's; he helped her to her feet, Makie helping out a bit. As she straightened back up, a thought passed through her mind, unbidden: _Wow, Negi-kun's hands are really soft. I don't think I've ever gotten a chance to hold his hand before. I wonder if the rest of his body is as soft as his hands..._

"-you doing?"

Makie was still in thought as Negi spoke to her, so she didn't catch all of what he said, but his voice did snap her back to the waking world. "Sorry, Negi-kun; what did you say?"

Negi smiled. "I asked, what were you doing?"

"Oh, this? Nothing... I was just doing a little late-night gymnastics practice."

Negi looked a bit surprised at this. "This late at night?"

"Yeah," replied Makie. "Usually, I'm so busy during the day, I don't have time to get much practicing in, so I find the best time is late at night."

"You're pretty dedicated to your gymnastics, Makie-san," commented Negi. "Probably moreso than your teammates. I don't see any of them out here, practicing with you."

Makie blushed at this. "Yeah, well, I pretty much have to be. I got into the American Semi-finals, you know."

Negi's eyes grew wide at this; he hadn't heard this bit of news yet. "When did this happen?"

"About a week ago, is when I found out about it. I was sure I told you..."

"Never mind that," replied Negi. "When do you head over there?"

Makie thought for a second. "Probably in... three or four days. The actual tournament starts about a week and a half from now, but I want to get over there early, maybe do a little bit of sightseeing before the tournament starts. That's going to take up a lot of my time, once it begins."

"I'd say so. I wish I could come with you, but..."

"Yeah, I know- you have your duties as a teacher. I understand." Makie looked down at her watch. "Oh man, I need to get back to the dorms. I wanted to get a bit more sleep tonight." She ran over to her bag and stuffed her baton into it, along with her extra clothes. She turned and bowed to Negi, then took off, waving behind her. "See you in class tomorrow, Negi-kun!!"

Negi bowed also, as Makie took off into the night. He said a quick prayer for her, that she would have the best of luck at her tournament; then, he started walking in the direction of the dorms, wanting more than just a little bit to catch some sleep before his classes the next day.

- - - - -

The next day came way too quickly for Negi; he awoke with a start, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes wide and dilated. He looked around the room frantically, trying to see if the demons in his dream had followed him into the world of the waking. Of course, they hadn't, and Negi flopped back down onto his pillow, still breathing heavily.

"Man, my dreams haven't been _that_ vivid in a long time..." he said aloud to himself. He finally got the strength to look around again, and noticed, oddly, that neither Asuna nor Konoka were in the room; in fact, their school stuff wasn't laying around like it usually was, either.

"What time is it?" he asked, looking at the clock. It read 8:15.

Negi jumped out of bed immediately, magically summoning his teacher's clothes from across the room, and began to put them on hurriedly. "Oh no, oh no... I'm late!! And I told Takamichi I would come early to help him out with the next year's 3-A roster..." It only took him a few seconds to get dressed, then, grabbing his backpack and wizard's staff, he hurtled out the door, running full-speed down the hallway.

When he exited the building, he noticed that the streets were almost completely bare. _Good... now I don't have any qualms about doing this._ Hopping on his staff, he zoomed off towards the school- keeping behind the buildings, just in case there _was_ someone who happened to look out into the streets at the moment.

It took him less than a minute to reach the school grounds, and he dismounted his staff, already running towards the school building. He burst through the door; luckily, his classroom was only a few feet from the entrance, so he stopped outside the door, trying to catch his breath.

"Thought you were going to be late?"

Negi looked up, to see Takamichi standing by his side, smiling gently.

"Yes," Negi said, straightening up, then bowing to his long-time friend and mentor; Takamichi did the same.

"Luckily for you," said Takamichi, as he straightened up, "you have a few minutes to spare before your class begins. Which is why I want to talk to you about something. No, you're not in trouble," he added, as he noticed the expression that had just crossed Negi's face, "I just have a bit of a... favor to ask you."

Negi was a bit puzzled at this. "A favor? Yeah, sure. What is it?"

Takamichi smiled. "Well, all I need you to do is..."

- - - - -

That same day, after Negi had finished grading the tests that his students had taken that day, when he got back to his room, he pulled out the suitcase he had stored behind his chest-of-drawers and set it up on his bed. He opened it up and, starting to rummage through his drawers, he began to pull out everything he thought he might need for-

"Whatcha doin'?"

The voice startled Negi, who jumped up onto his bed in fear; he turned around to face whoever had just spoken to him, but when he saw who it was, he calmed down.

"Oh. Hello, Asuna-san."

Asuna was trying very hard not to laugh- so much so, that her face was growing very red. "Did- did I scare you?"

She could hold it in no longer, and she let out a great laugh, so loud that someone yelled from upstairs, "Shut up! I'm trying to study!"

"Oh, Negi, you should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless!"

"I bet it was..." muttered Negi. He turned and began packing again.

Once Asuna had calmed down, she looked over at Negi oddly, still trying to get her breathing back to normal. "Negi, what _are_ you doing? You going on a trip somewhere?"

"Yeah," was all Negi said.

"Well... where are you going?"

Negi looked over at Asuna. "You promise not to tell anyone, if I tell you where I'm going? Takamichi made me swear not to get the information leaked out..."

Asuna would have kept a secret quite willingly for Negi, but since it was for Takamichi, she all of a sudden became _extra_-willing to keep it, and she told Negi as much.

"Alright, I'm going to..." He leaned over and whispered his secret into Asuna's ear.

When he'd finished telling Asuna the plan, she had a wide grin on her face. "Negi, I know this really means a lot to her. And seeing as she really likes you... I think this is a good idea."

Negi was quite relieved that Asuna thought it was a good idea. "Glad you think so."

"When do you leave?"

Negi checked his calendar, which was hanging up above his bed. "I leave on Memorial Day, which is... in two days."

"That soon? I'm really gonna miss you, ya know."

Negi smiled. "And I'm sure I'll miss you, too, Asuna-san."

Asuna laughed at this. "No, you won't. You'll be having too much fun to miss any of us." She turned and started to head out, but stopped and faced Negi again. "Me and Konoka are going out for pizza. You want us to bring you back anything?"

"No, thanks. Chao-san invited me over to her restaurant for dinner tonight."

This was news to Asuna. "The _Chao-Bao-Xi_? I didn't know she kept it open during any other times than MahoraFest..."

"She usually doesn't, but she said she _really_ wanted me to try one of Satsuki-san's new recipes tonight."

Asuna laughed. "Alright, suit yourself." She waved goodbye to Negi, as she opened the door and left.

Negi turned again, and stared down at his suitcase. "Alright, I'm going to need..."

- - - - -

**Two Days Later**

The plane dipped its nose downward, preparing for its final descent. Among the passengers on this plane was a young lady, very nervous about heading to America for the first time. The plane finally touched down, and the pilot came on the intercom: "_Ladies and gentlemen, we have now arrived in Los Angeles, at LAX Airport. Please remain in your seats until the plane is finished taxi-ing to its final spot. And once again, we thank you for flying with Air Japan._"

Soon, the plane stopped, and the seatbelt light turned off. Breathing a sigh of relief, Makie unbuckled her seat belt, and stood up, stretching her legs. She hadn't gotten up a single time during the flight, not even to use the lavatory; her legs had been too unsure to do much of anything except nothing.

As soon as Makie exited the plane, she began to look around, anticipating seeing someone. "Where is Takamichi?" she asked herself. "I thought he was going to meet me here..."

"Just a slight change of plans, is all."

Makie almost immediately recognized the small, yet commanding voice, but she didn't believe it could be who she thought it was- why on earth would he, of all people, be out here in America, when he was supposed to be back in Japan, teaching? When she turned around, though, she saw her ears hadn't deceived her.

"N-Negi-kun? Wh-what are you doing here?"

Negi smiled at his student. "Sorry to scare you like that; Takamichi had some urgent matters come up, so he asked me to come here in his place. I hope you don't mind..."

Makie's mind was swirling with emotions: _Yeah, I'm glad he's here, but I was really looking forward to spending some time with Takahata-sensei. Besides, Takahata-sensei is a big adult, and he could probably look after me. But Negi-kun...? I mean, yeah, he's strong and everything... But, I guess I'm glad he's here. Maybe I'll even get a chance to stay in a hotel room with him..._ She didn't notice that as she was thinking this, a very heavy blush had come over her face; unfortunately for her, Negi did.

"You alright, Makie-san? Your face looks a little red..."

"No, no, I'm fine." She looked down at Negi and smiled. "You want to go get my bags? And yours, probably?"

Negi seemed lost in though, but when she said this, he snapped back to reality. "Yeah, sure. Do you know where the baggage carousel is?"

"Yeah, follow me." She grabbed onto his hand (_only to keep him from getting lost..._ she thought to herself), and dragged him forward, Negi trying to keep up behind her. All the while, Makie's mind was running on high fuel: _I was right the first time- Negi's hands _are_ really smooth..._ She shifted her grip slightly, so that their fingers intertwined, and she slowed down to a regular walk. _There, that's better... Heh... it almost feels like we're on a date..._

Soon, they made it to the carousel and, luckily, they had no problem finding their bags as they came around.

When they had all their stuff, Makie turned to Negi. "I already had the hotel reservations made before I came here. You wanna just head on over to the hotel, seeing as it's already getting dark?"

"Sure," replied Negi, as the two made their way to the exit. "But, what do you want to do when you get there?"

Makie smiled at Negi, and he could tell she was thinking a mile a minute. "Oh, we'll think of something..."

- - - - -

**Two Days Later **

"We're back!"

Akira smiled, as she saw Makie and Negi step off the plane, both looking very tired, but happy nonetheless.

"How'd you do?" asked Ako, who was also with them.

"Yeah, don't keep us in suspense," urged Sakurako, who had just popped her head out from behind Akira.

"Well, I didn't do as well as I thought I would," replied Makie. "I placed eighth in the tournament."

"That's still pretty good," said Ako. "Probably way better than I would do." This elicited a laugh from all of them.

"And how about you?" asked Akira, turning to Negi. "How'd you enjoy everything?"

"It was nice," said Negi. "Good to be able to go to America for once." Noticing Makie had her back turned to them, Negi whispered something to her three companions, something that made them all gasp.

Makie turned, hearing their gasps. "What? What is it?"

"When you were at the hotel," began Akira, "did you and Negi... you know...?"

Makie blushed a deep crimson when she realized what Akira was referring to. "Oh, come on- no! I like Negi-kun, you all know, but I don't like him_ that_ much!!"

"Well then, what did he mean when he said-" Ako was interrupted by Sakurako. "Where'd Negi go?"

They all looked around, and indeed, Negi had slipped off without them. "We'll find him later," said Makie. "Now, I want to know what he told you."

Akira spoke up again: "Well, we couldn't hear him exactly, but..."

"Well, what did it _sound like_ he said?"

"For a second there, it kind of sounded like... 'I never knew some of the things Makie-san could do with that baton of hers'."

* * *

**End Note: Sorry if you guys are mad at me for not writing the actual tournament that Makie went to, into the story. I just kind of felt like the story was long enough without having a blow-by-blow report of her tournament added into it. Don't worry- I may make her competition into a one-shot sometime soon, but until then... just use your imagination.**


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